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Help America Vote Act – A Summary
Overview
Last October, President Bush signed into law the Help America Vote Act
of 2002, also known as “HAVA”. The new law calls for roughly
$3.9 billion to be allocated to the states to improve elections and
voting procedures. The money will be used to replace punch-card and
lever voting machines, purchase voting machines for disabled voters,
implement statewide computerized registration systems, provide provisional
ballots to allow all eligible voters to cast their votes, train poll
workers, educate voters, improve access to polling sites for voters
with disabilities, and implement other requirements to improve election
administration in general.
The success of the
bill in ensuring that voters are able to cast their votes and have those
votes counted will depend on how it is implemented at the state level.
As we saw in Florida, which overhauled its election system in 2001,
the success of new electronic voting machines depends on effective education
of poll workers and voters. This bill requires states to play a more
central role in election administration and take greater responsibility.
In turn, state will be more accountable for failures in the future.
New
Federal Requirements: New Voting Machines & Voting System Standards
By 2006, voting systems/machines used for federal elections must provide
(1) ballot review by the voter – error notification, including
the effect of over-voting – and an opportunity to correct the
ballot (jurisdictions using paper ballots must establish voter education
and instructions) under conditions of privacy; (2) a permanent paper
record with a manual audit capacity available as official record for
recounts (the audit trail is not required to be voter-verifiable); (3)
accessibility for disabled voters (which may be satisfied by the use
of one accessible system per polling place); (4) alternative language
accessibility pursuant to the Voting Rights Act; (6) a uniform definition,
adopted by the state, of what constitutes a vote.
The requirement
for an audit trail for new voting systems has provoked considerable
debate across the country. Central to the debate has been whether voters
should be provided with the opportunity to view a printed receipt of
their ballot before it is cast. Advocates concerned with tampering or
improper programming of electronic machines say such a ‘voter-verified’
audit trail is essential. Advocates for the disability community have
raised concerns about the introduction of paper trails, citing the potential
discriminatory impact for voters with visual impairments.
For more information on this issue and the Coalition’s Statement
on new voting machines, click here.
New Federal Requirements: Administrative Requirements
The bill establishes several significant new administrative requirements:
(1) provisional voting for voters whose names are not on the registration
list similar to the Affidavit Ballot system currently in place in New
York State; (2) a computerized, centralized, state-administered database
of registered voters; (3) a requirement that voter registration applicants
provide either their driver’s license number, the last four digits
of their Social Security number or, if the registrant has neither, that
the state assign a unique identifier; (4) a requirement that first-time
registrants who mail-in their voter registration form provide photo
or other documentary evidence of identity either when they register
or when they vote; and (5) public posting of voter information at the
polling site, such as a “Voter’s Bill of Rights”.
The new ID requirement
for first-time, mail-in registrants has generated more controversy than
any other provision, and may disenfranchise eligible voters. It’s
difficult to assess the impact of this provision because, although many
states impose ID requirements, the allowable forms of ID are less restrictive.
The bill’s fail-safe mechanism – allowing such voters without
ID to vote a provisional ballot – is an untested experiment since
no state uses this method and it’s unclear how identity is to
be verified after Election Day. Provisional ballots often go uncounted
due to no fault of eligible voters.
New
Federal Requirements: State Plan and Planning Commission
The requirement that states develop a state plan for the use of funds
is key to ensuring compliance. States must develop the plan in consultation
with citizens and interested parties; the plan must be subject to review
and comment; the state must report on how it used the funds; and to
receive subsequent grants, the state must account for how previous funds
were spent. Further, the commission must report to Congress on how federal
funds were used. The New York Task Force in charge of drafting the state’s
plan has come under significant criticism for its composition and process.
Click here for more information on the
Task Force.
Click Here
for a pdf Version of HAVA (Adobe’s Acrobat Reader Required)
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