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H.R.2239


Title: To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified permanent record or hardcopy under title III of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] (introduced 5/22/2003) Cosponsors: 29
Latest Major Action: 5/22/2003 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

Jump to: Titles, Status, Committees, Related Bill Details, Amendments, Cosponsors, Summary

TITLE(S): (italics indicate a title for a portion of a bill)
? SHORT TITLE(S) AS INTRODUCED:
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003
? OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED:
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified permanent record or hardcopy under title III of such Act, and for other purposes.

Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
5/23/2003:

COMMITTEE(S):
Committee/Subcommittee: Activity:
House House Administration Referral

RELATED BILL DETAILS:
***NONE***

AMENDMENT(S):
***NONE***

SUMMARY AS OF:
5/22/2003--Introduced.

Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to provide for an extension of time for States to request payments for activities to improve administration of elections and for replacement of punch card or lever voting machines.

Repeals the exemption of the Election Assistance Commission from certain Government contracting requirements (thus requiring the Commission to advertise for proposals for purchases and contracts for supplies or services).
Revises audit capacity requirements to require the voting system to produce a voter-verified paper record suitable for a manual audit equivalent or superior to that of a paper ballot box system.

Requires the voting system to provide a mechanism for voter-verification of results with respect to individuals with disabilities which separates the function of vote generation from the function of vote casting, but does not require the use of paper. Requires instruction of election officials in the rights of the disabled to vote with the assistance of an aide of their selection under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Requires the Commission to study and develop best practices to enhance accessibility and voter-verification mechanisms for disabled voters.

Accelerates the deadline for compliance with voting systems standards from January 1, 2006, to the regularly scheduled November 2004 general Federal election.

Requires each State and jurisdiction unable to meet such deadline to receive a paper voting system at Commission expense that shall be deemed compliant with such standards for use in the November 2004 general election.

Requires Federal certification of technological security of voter registration lists.

Directs the Commission to: (1) conduct manual mandatory surprise recounts of the voter-verified records of each election for Federal office (and, at State or local option, of elections for State and local office) in .5 percent of the jurisdictions in each State and .5 percent of the overseas jurisdictions in which voter-verified records are preserved in accordance with this Act immediately following each general election for Federal office; and (2) promptly publish the results of those recounts.

 

COSPONSORS(29), ALPHABETICAL
Rep Baird, Brian - 6/17/2003 [WA-3] Rep Baldwin, Tammy - 7/25/2003 [WI-2]
Rep Brown, Corrine - 7/9/2003 [FL-3] Rep Brown, Sherrod - 6/24/2003 [OH-13]
Rep Case, Ed - 7/21/2003 [HI-2] Rep Conyers, John, Jr. - 6/17/2003 [MI-14]
Rep Davis, Danny K. - 7/21/2003 [IL-7] Rep Eshoo, Anna G. - 6/24/2003 [CA-14]
Rep Farr, Sam - 7/21/2003 [CA-17] Rep Fattah, Chaka - 7/21/2003 [PA-2]
Rep Filner, Bob - 7/9/2003 [CA-51] Rep Frank, Barney - 6/24/2003 [MA-4]
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. - 7/25/2003 [FL-23] Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. - 6/17/2003 [NY-22]
Rep Hoeffel, Joseph M. - 6/24/2003 [PA-13] Rep Jones, Stephanie Tubbs - 7/21/2003 [OH-11]
Rep Kaptur, Marcy - 6/17/2003 [OH-9] Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. - 7/25/2003 [OH-10]
Rep Lantos, Tom - 7/9/2003 [CA-12] Rep Lee, Barbara - 6/17/2003 [CA-9]
Rep Owens, Major R. - 6/24/2003 [NY-11] Rep Rothman, Steve R. - 7/9/2003 [NJ-9]
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. - 6/24/2003 [IL-9] Rep Scott, Robert C. - 6/24/2003 [VA-3]
Rep Strickland, Ted - 6/24/2003 [OH-6] Rep Van Hollen, Chris - 6/17/2003 [MD-8]
Rep Wexler, Robert - 6/17/2003 [FL-19] Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. - 6/17/2003 [CA-6]

Rep Wynn, Albert Russell - 7/21/2003 [MD-4]

 
Supporters and co-sponsors are growing. Check the list, if you don't see your Representative's name call or e-mail and urge them to support this bill. Check the FAQ's to answer concerns. So far support has been split by party-line; find out what the Republicans have against fair and accurate elections.

I am concerned about the additional costs of implementing H.R. 2239.

Most districts are NOT currently using touch-screen equipment. These districts can use future HAVA funds to upgrade to systems that provide a voter verifiable paper trail. If the cost of adding voter-verifiable printers to touch screens is too great, precinct-based optical scan systems can be purchased at about 1/3 of the price of touch screen systems -- and, according to many studies, these systems are at least as accurate as touch screens.
Districts currently using touch screens can upgrade by adding voter-verifiable printers. If this is too costly in the short run, such districts almost invariably have high-volume optical scan systems available for absentee voting. These paper ballots can be used in polling places as well as absentee. These systems are proven and widely used (and, of course, certified for use).


I am concerned about the shortened timeline in H.R.2239.

Every district can meet the HR 2239 deadlines. If new equipment is not ready by November 2004, counties can continue to use paper-based systems. Note that most counties have absentee voting systems based on paper ballots.


I am concerned about states' rights.

It is within the province of the federal government to regulate the voting methods for federal elections, such as the Presidential election. H.R.2239 does not mandate more regulation of the states than HAVA does; it simply mandates somewhat different regulation.


The requirement for a paper receipt opens the door to fraud.

There are no "receipts." H.R. 2239 mandates paper records that are left in a secure container in the polling place, like conventional paper ballots. The voters cannot take a copy of their votes away from the polling place. These records would enable MEANINGFUL recounts, rather than simple repetition of the machine tallies.


What about the voting privacy of individuals with disabilities?

H.R. 2239 does not reduce the privacy of voters with disabilities. It requires that electronic voting equipment provide mechanisms for vote-verification in a manner similar to, but other than, paper. The Department of Justice has declared that the requirement for a voter-verified audit trail, such as this, is compatible with the disability requirements of HAVA. H.R.2239 accelerates the HAVA provisions for disabled persons. accelerates by one year the requirement for compliance with accessibility requirements, and it adds several other provisions of benefit specifically to disabled voters.

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