[This Resolution passed in October]

Two important election reform bills have passed and have been waiting since July for conference committee action. The Help America Vote Act (HR 3295), and the Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act (S 565) would:

• Require states and localities to meet uniform and nondiscriminatory election technology and administration requirements applicable to Federal elections,
• Establish grant programs to provide aid to states and localities to meet those requirements, and to improve election technology and the administration of Federal elections,
• Establish the Election Administration Commission.

Call at least one or two members of the conference committee to urge their support for this bill. The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. There are only a few short weeks remaining in this legislative session.

Both bills were originally introduced following the problems with the 2000 Presidential election. Readers will remember all the stories about hanging chads on voting cards and the lack of accessibility of voting stations. Rep. Conyers (D-MI) has taken the lead by introducing HR 3295. Both bills have passed and are now in the joint Conference Committee to reconcile their differences. HR 3295 passed the House on December 12, 2001, 362 - 63. (The House bill is the lead bill under consideration in the committee.) S 565 passed the Senate on April 4, 2002. These bills have been under consideration by this committee since July 9, 2002. Nothing will go to President Bush for a signature until the differences are hammered out and agreement has been reached between the two bills.

In spite of promises by election officials around the country regarding corrective actions following the debacles of the 2000 election, there was a repeat of some of the very same problems in some of the 2002 primary elections. Obviously, further corrective action is needed on the part of local and state governments.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2002 (S 565), requires each voting system used in an Federal election to: (1) permit the voter to verify his or her votes on the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted; and (2) provide the voter with the opportunity to change the ballot or correct any error before the ballot is cast and counted.

It also provides that, if the voter selects votes for more than one candidate for a single office, the voting system must: (1) notify the voter that he or she has selected more than one candidate for a single office on the ballot; (2) notify him or her before the ballot is cast and counted of the effect of casting multiple votes for the office; and (3) provide the opportunity to correct the ballot before it is cast and counted.

S 565 also requires the voting system to: (1) be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters; (2) satisfy such requirement through the use of at least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities at each polling place; and (3) meet the voting system standards for disability access if purchased with funds made available under title II of this Act on or after January 1, 2007.

Further, it provides that, if an individual who declares that he or she is a registered and eligible voter, but the name does not appear on the official list of voters for the polling place, or an election official asserts that the individual is not eligible to vote, the individual shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot according to specified procedures.

Conference Committee Members:

Senators:

Christopher S. Bond (R-MO)
Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)
Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Charles Schumer (D-NY)

House Members:

James A. Barcia (D-MI)
Roy D. Blunt (R-MO)
Sherwood L Boehlert (R-NY)
Steve Chabot (R-OH)
John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
Jim Davis (D-FL)
John Doolittle (R-CA)
Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MD)
Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD)
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
John M. McHugh (R-NY)
Constance A. Morella (R-MD)
Robert Ney (R-OH)
Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
James Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
Thomas Reynolds (R-NY)
Ike Skelton (D-MO)
E. Clay Shaw (R-FL)
Bob Stump (R-AZ)
William M. Thomas (R-CA)

General Assembly

The 1983 General Assembly called upon "all Presbyterians, congregations, and presbyteries to: Initiate, organize, and support voter registration projects within their voting districts or geographic areas, and in particular, Unite with local organizing efforts, encourage and assist low-income persons to register, vote, and be effective participants in the governmental processes of the nation (Minutes, 1983, Part I, page 827).

In 1990, the General Assembly "urge(d) Presbyterians to help expand voting rights..." The Assembly called upon then "President Bush to support the National voter Registration Act of 1990 (Minutes, 1990, Part I, page 522).