ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES: THE VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

(Washington, DC) With the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections and their plethora of unresolved issues still fresh on the minds of many Americans, Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA) who chairs the Committee on House Administration, has made the integrity of electronic voting machines a top priority under her leadership. 

"We encountered a wide range of frustrations in the last two elections during the use of electronic voting machines. Some of the most infamous problems involved punch cards with hanging or pregnant chads. Others involved voters who were turned away from the polls without the opportunity to cast a ballot. The integrity of electronic voting machines is a number-one priority for the Committee on House Administration because we must continue to move forward with the use of technology to improve the election process. On the other hand, we must also see that no one is turned away from the polls without casting a vote, because that is essential to maintaining the integrity of our democracy," said Millender-McDonald.

The Chair recently issued a letter to the court hearing the case in Florida's 13th Congressional District race, the results of which are still being challenged. The challenger has asked, but been refused access to the codes that would explain an 18,000-vote discrepancy. "Now on appeal to your court is the question of access to this evidence which bears decisively on the prospect of conclusively establishing who was duly elected," the letter from Millender-McDonald said.

Records show that despite passage of the "Help America Vote Act," (HAVA) citizens in the 2004 General Election and several primaries experienced a number of problems. A recent editorial in the New York Times backs up Millender-McDonald's call for a "Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail" for these machines, stating that The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has deemed paperless voting machines are "unacceptable."

Enacted by Congress in October 2002, the HAVA allows the National Institute of Standards and Technology to play a key role in helping to realize nationwide improvements in voting systems by January 2006. That organization's Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) is coordinating the agency's HAVA efforts through its expertise in areas such as computer security and usability.

HAVA calls for the creation of an Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to oversee voting standards work. Reporting to the EAC will be the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC), which will make recommendations on voluntary standards and guidelines related to voting machines.

Millender-McDonald also indicated her desire to speak with local election officials, regarding their views about the wisdom of imposing a federal mandate which would specify what type of election equipment should be used. "The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) is a solid foundation upon which we can institute further electoral improvements" she said.

##