Members Present: Chairman Ney (R-OH); Ehlers (R-MI); Mica (R-FL); Linder (R-GA); Hoyer (RMM,
  D-MD); Fattah (D-PA); and Davis (D-FL).

Witnesses:  The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State; The Honorable Sharon Priest, Arkansas Secretary of State; The Honorable Katherine Harris, Florida Secretary of State; The Honorable Rebecca Vigil-Giron,  New Mexico, Secretary of State; The Honorable Ron Thornburgh, Kansas Secretary of State;  The Honorable Martin R. Stephens Utah Speaker of the House; The Honorable John Adams Hurson, Majority Leader, Maryland House of Delegates; The Honorable Kenneth Mayfield,  Commissioner, Dallas County, Texas; Deborah Phillips, Voter Integrity Project; Kristen Cox,  National Federation of the Blind; Hilary Shelton, NAACP; and Dennis M. Duggan, American Legion.

Chairman Ney opened the hearing by stating that Congress should contribute to improving the election process and that the Committee will hold a Federal Technology Exposition to give Members of Congress, staff and the public an opportunity to examine the most advanced and cost-effective examples of voting machine technology.  He said  goals should include: ensure that every vote counts; clear standards for what constitutes a vote; and no vote is canceled by an illegal or fraudulent vote.  He thinks it important  not  to federalize or nationalize the voting process.

Representative Hoyer said that Congress should act before the summer recess to repair public confidence in the election system.  First step is for the Federal government to help, not tell states and localities to replace unreliable punch-card voting systems.  Congress should respect role of states but must ensure that voters can be confident elections are fair.

Secretary Blackwell said elections are state business and should remain so.  Universal standards should be established to assure voters that each ballot will be counted in the same manner within each individual state.  Ohio House of Representatives has passed election reform bill to codify rules and provide clear instructions to county election officials.  Bill would strengthen the authority of the secretary of state to issue instructions regarding the conduct of elections and create a committee to study voting machines and funding methods.  He estimates it would cost Ohioans at least $120M to replace punch card machines.  Congress should provide federal funds for matching grants to states and localities to improve voting systems.

Ms. Preist stated that NASS recommends that Congress: provide sustained funding for the Office of Election Administration to update the Federal Voting System Standards; fund the development of voluntary management practices standards for each voting system; and promote intergovernmental cooperation among state and local elections officials to facilitate the maintenance of accurate vote registration rolls.

Secretary Harris called for a uniform, statewide voting method for the entire State of Florida and a statewide real time voter registration database to provide elections officials with a reliable listing of all registered voters.  Problem affecting the American electoral system cannot be solved by local and state governments alone–funding is not there.
Secretary Vigil-Giron said under New Mexico laws and ballots are uniform throughout the state and compatible with the types of voting machines used.  Uniform standards and procedures are required by law for all county, state and federal elections.  Training is mandatory for County Clerks, precinct poll workers and voting machine technicians.  Important to have Congressional funding to allow the Federal Elections Commission to complete its update of the voting machine certification standards.

Secretary Thornburgh said that America’s confidence in its voting system has been shaken.  American needs uniform voluntary standards for our voting equipment, technologies and processes.  America does not need the same ballot or voting machine in every precinct.  State and local governments must continue to be in charge of the election process.  We must ensure that voter registration records are accurate and up-to-date.  Urged Congress to fund section 8(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 allowing first class handling of official election mail at third class rates.

Speaker Stephens said that the National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL) is charged with determining the appropriate Federal role in State elections processes and to serve as an expert body providing information to the States on creative solutions to elections issues.  NCSL has adopted an emergency policy regarding Federal election reform–policy calls for Congress to refrain from enacting legislation which would limit the ability of State legislatures to exercise discretion over their election processes.  NCSL task force recommends that any Federal funding to the States be in the form of a block grant to States and based on broad principles, not specific mandates.

Majority Leader Hurson described some of the bills being considered by State legislatures and stated NCSL’s commitment to a comprehensive review of the Nation’s election laws and processes.  Very concerned about the public confidence in the integrity of the voting process and hopes that rather than crafting a one-size-fits-all solution that Congress will defer to State lawmakers who have been engaged in this issue since the first ballot was looked at in Florida.

Commissioner Mayfield believes the Federal government should not adopt a regulatory approach. Instead it should address the weaknesses of the current system by funding improvements in equipment and administration, sponsoring research and disseminating information.  Recommends three programs: a grant to help State and local governments cover the one-time cost for upgrading voter registration and voting systems; an ongoing formula-based funding program to share the cost of the administration of Federal elections; and the assistance in mailing election-related materials as recommended by the National Association of Secretaries of States. (NASS)   He believes that attempts at national uniformity, such as a uniform national ballot would be impractical.

Ms. Phillips said that America does not have an election equipment problem as it has an election system problem–the entire end-to-end process for delivery of elections.  The basic data used by the system is fundamentally flawed–perfect counts are meaningless when based on faulty registration rolls.  State and local election officials need more tools and greater resources to ensure that their voter rolls are reliable–believes it possible with Federal leadership.

Ms. Cox said the enactment of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act required the Federal government to take the lead in requiring accessible information in electronic technology used by Federal employees and the public.  She believes ensuring that voting systems are accessible is a natural and logical extension of this law.

Mr. Shelton recommended that the Federal government: promptly enact laws, policies and procedures that ensure nondiscriminatory equal access to the electoral process for all voters; modernize voting and counting procedures, including voting machine and equipment, provide funding and resources to modernize and upgrade equipment ; and retrain all poll workers and election officials so there is fair, equal and uniform treatment of voters across the State.  H.R. 1170, Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001 which was introduced by Congressman John Conyers (Senator Christopher Dodd introduced companion bill in the Senate) takes a comprehensive approach to the problems identified by the NAACP and other civil and voting rights groups about the November election.

Mr. Duggan said on average, 35 percent of all military absentee ballots are still not being counted in Federal elections.  He believes Federal legislation with guidelines is required because States have not resolved this problem in nearly half a century and we need a more uniform and consistent system.  Recommends that Congress continue to hold hearings on this issue; that laws and guidelines pertaining to the subject be developed not only on a Federal level but at State and local levels as well; and that Congress encourage broad-based support among veterans and military organizations.

Chairman Ney and Secretary Blackwell agreed that the general public assumes that something will be done about election reform and that while state budgets are tight, legislatures will hopefully be able to match any Federal funding.  Chairman Ney and Secretary Vigil-Giron discussed New Mexico’s adoption of voluntary standards for their voting machines and providing for training for workers.  In answer to the Chairman’s  questions, Secretary Harris described her state’s efforts to replace the punch-card voting machines and said that uniform standards are needed but with some flexibility.  Representative Hoyer discussed that the Federal government should be a partner in election reform and Secretary Priest called for the Federal Election Commission to be funded.  Secretary Blackwell warned against centralizing election administration.  Representative Ehlers said that the punch card is one of the more reliable ways of voting–he believes the problem in Florida was not the punch card as much as it was bad election law and the inability to determine what was properly punched and what was not.  He made the following points: the Science Committee is looking at this issue from the technical standpoint; an MIT/CalTech consortia is looking at the technical side of this issue; we need good laws and procedures to ensure equal access; we need better registration methods; we need fool-proof machines; we need accurate counting; we need to prohibit exit polling and revealing election results before the last vote is counted; and hopes the FEC can establish standards and NIST can establish technical standards for voting machines.  Representative Ehlers said he thinks Congress should avoid telling States what systems to be used in the next election but Congress could advise about technical components to achieve uniformity from State to State.  Representatives Fattah and Linder discussed the problems of registration with the witnesses.  Representative Davis asked whether the witnesses believe that the U.S. Supreme Court has mandated, as a Federal civil right, that improvements be made by the 2002 election.  Secretary Vigil-Giron replied that the legislature is working on a centralized voter management system within New Mexico for the 2002 election.  Secretary Harris replied that there is no consensus among legal minds as to what uniformity specifically applies to,  whether it is systems or standards.  In Florida, they are trying to accomplish uniform standards through optical scan by 2002.  Chairman Ney asked about the uniform poll closing time and creating a national holiday for voting and Mr. Stephens replied that the NCSL task force opposes a uniform national poll closing–could not figure out a way to make it fair for all the States and opposes creating a national holiday for voting. Mr. Mayfield said that he thinks it would be a good idea to have a national holiday on Election Day.  Chairman Ney asked about voter fraud prosecutions and Ms. Phillips replied they are not pursued by legal authorities due to the unpopularity of the type of cases and the use of large amounts of resources needed.  Chairman Ney and Mr. Shelton discussed the urgency of the voting rights laws to be enforced.  Ms. Cox said having one accessible unit per polling place would be enough.  Representative Hoyer and Mr. Duggan agreed on the importance of working to ensure military votes are counted.

Prepared by:  Relda Nacos, NIST, 975-3080
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REPORT REFLECTS AN INDIVIDUAL'S PERCEPTION OF WHAT TRANSPIRED DURING THE HEARING.  FOR OFFICIAL INFORMATION, CONSULT THE COMMITTEE REPORT.