May 9, 2001
Lieberman Examines Solutions to Widespread
Disenfranchisement
Committee Focuses on Technology, Access, and
Education
WASHINGTON
- Reacting to evidence that an untold number of people were
denied the opportunity to vote or have their vote counted last
November, Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) Wednesday declared
that he will pursue legislative solutions to ensure that the
constitutional right to vote is protected for all Americans.
Drawing on testimony from two days of Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee hearings on election reform,
Lieberman noted he would work to address a range of problems
that voters in the 2000 election faced, including faulty voting
equipment, incomplete or inaccurate registration rolls, and
language barriers.
"I hope Congress will ensure the American
citizens’ fundamental right to vote through election reform
legislation adopted this year," he said
Lieberman said estimates indicate that,
nationwide, of all the ballots cast, 2.5 million were counted as
a ‘no-vote’ for President. "Certainly some of these
voters intended it this way," he said. "Equally
certain, however, is that many intended to record a choice for
president, but had their votes discarded for any number of
reasons, including confusing ballots, faulty voting equipment,
rushed circumstances and scores of other, sometimes more
elusive, factors."
Among those other factors: a lack of voter
instruction and education and poor accommodations for the
disabled and the elderly. Witnesses, however, testified these
problems can be overcome. Conny McCormack, Registrar-Recorder
and County Clerk of Los Angeles County, described the success of
a voting technology experiment in her county that not only
greatly decreased the overall occurrence of errors, but that
used equipment that could be adapted so blind people were able
to vote without assistance.
"I hope this hearing serves as a reminder
that Americans not only have a right to expect that their votes
will be counted; they have an equal
right to expect that their votes will be counted,"
Lieberman said. "The constitutional promise of one person,
one vote is not just a statement of principle, it is the legal
right that every American has. And the first step in making this
right a reality is providing all citizens with voting equipment
they can count on, voting equipment that will count their
votes." |