July 31, 2001

"We want to respond to the report released earlier today by the National Commission on Federal Election Reform. I would like to, if I may, briefly make three points in response to this report.

"First, Presidents Ford and Carter and the other members of the Commission are to be commended for their effort. The report makes clear that the election of 2000 was more than "a closely contested election." And it was more than a matter of a few thousand disputed ballots in the state of Florida. It was, in the words of the Commission, "a political ordeal unlike any in living memory." An ordeal that spread beyond a few counties in Florida to encompass - and incriminate - the electoral system of our entire nation.

"This report adds to the growing body of evidence that in the year 2000, millions of Americans were disenfranchised. These are people who intended to vote, but who, for a variety of reasons were not able to vote and have their vote counted.

"A recent report by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that four to six million Americans were denied on Election Day 2000. That is unacceptable in any nation that calls itself a democracy. For our nation - which is the birthplace of modern democracy, which holds itself out among the community of nations as an emblem of self-governance - six million thwarted voters is more than unacceptable. It is unconscionable.

"Which leads me to my second point: the report contains a number of strong recommendations for action to redress the wrongs that exist in our nation's electoral system. These recommendations include:

• statewide voter registration,
• provision voting so voters aren't turned away just because of flawed voter lists,
• sample ballots so voters can inform themselves prior to entering the voting booth,
• and uniform standards within and among states that allow voters to check and correct their ballot and allow them to cast a secret ballot regardless of physical ability, language, or literacy.-->

  "These are critical reforms that I believe must be part of any meaningful reform of our electoral system.

  "That leads me to my third and final point: there is only one way to guarantee that these reforms become part of the fabric of our democracy, and that is to require them and give the states the resources they may require to weave them into their state and local practices. Only one bill introduced in the House and Senate will do that, and thereby ensure that the strong recommendations of this report are not put on a shelf to gather dust for all eternity. That bill is the Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act.

  "In our view, the disenfranchisement of upwards of 6 million Americans - who are disproportionately poor, minority, and disabled - merits more than a voluntary approach to reform. The effective exercise of a citizen's fundamental right to vote should not depend on whether that citizen's home state has decided to accept federal funds - any more than it should depend on that citizen's race, income, or physical abilities. Repeal of poll taxes and literacy tests was not made optional in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We should not make nondiscriminatory voting places optional in 2001. That would be a terrible mistake.

  "Every vote counts. And every voter is equal. Starting this Thursday in the Senate Rules Committee, we intend to do all in our power to ensure that the full promise of democracy is realized for the tens of millions of Americans who still live in the shadows of disenfranchisement."

  Multimedia:
  View pictures from the press conference