October 4, 2002

Good afternoon.

Rumors of the demise of election reform have been greatly exaggerated. Over the past several months, as published reports bewailed the lack of progress in these negotiations, we were making progress - working quietly during early mornings, late nights, and long weekends.

These efforts have brought us to the point where we today are pleased to announce an historic agreement on election reform legislation. It is bipartisan, and bicameral. It is one that, we believe, merits the support of all our colleagues in the House and Senate. It merits the support of the President, as well.

Twenty-three months ago, our nation was thrown into turmoil because we learned a painful reality: that our democracy does not work as well as it should. Of one hundred or so million voters, four to six million Americans went to the polls on election day 2000 and for a variety of reasons were denied their right to vote and have their vote counted. Some were victims of faulty machinery. Some were victims of wrongful purges from voter lists. Others fell victims to poorly designed ballots.

The legislation we present to the Congress today goes a long way toward rectifying those wrongs. It does justice to the American voter. This is an agreement that breaks new ground. It is, I believe, the first civil rights legislation of the 21st century. It is not a perfect bill. But it is a good bill, a balanced bill, a bill that will make our democracy work better.

Two hundred and thirteen years ago at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the Framers decreed that the administration of federal elections is not the job of just the states, or just the federal government, but the job of both. Until today, that vision of cooperation and partnership has largely been honored in the breach. The federal government has for the most part been an observer, not a partner, in the conduct of elections for federal office.

Starting today, that pattern comes to an end. For the first time, the national government steps up to more fully meet its constitutional duty to uphold the soundness and sanctity of the ballot. With this bill, we move closer to the day when every vote cast will be counted.

Our bill achieves this progress in three ways: with new rights, new responsibilities, and new resources.

First, new rights. Our agreement establishes new voting rights for our citizens. These include:

The right - starting in 2004 -- to cast a provisional ballot. That way, no qualified voter can ever again be turned away from the polling place without first being offered the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot.

The right to a second-chance if the voter made a mistake. In this way, voters need never again leave a polling place haunted by the thought that they voted for the wrong candidates, or nullified their own vote by over-voting.

The right of all voters to cast a private and independent ballot. This provision is especially important to voters with disabilities. In the 2000 elections, some 20 million of them did not vote - in many cases because of the inaccessibility of the polling place and the polling booth.

The right to have, at each polling place, printed, posted information, including a sample ballot and a listing of voter rights and responsibilities. In this way, our bill will sharply reduce the risk of confusion and error on election day.

In addition, our bill requires states to develop uniform and nondiscriminatory standards for counting ballots - because whether or not your ballot will count should never depend on where you happen to live.

Second, our bill establishes new responsibilities - for voters, for states, and for the federal government.

To address concerns about fraud, voters seeking to vote for the first time in a state will be responsible for producing some form of identification. Senator Bond was particularly instrumental in crafting these provisions.

And states will be responsible for producing statewide computerized lists of registered voters. Once these lists are up and running, concerns that individuals may be voting multiple times in multiple jurisdictions will be definitively resolved.

To ensure that the requirements of the bill are met, States will also be required to establish administrative procedures to remedy voters' grievances. And at the federal level, the Department of Justice will be responsible for enforcing the provisions of the act.

Third, this legislation would commit unprecedented new resources to improving and upgrading all aspects of our elections. In all, it authorizes $3.8 billion over the next three years to help states replace and renovate voting equipment, train poll workers, educate voters, upgrade voter lists, and make polling places more accessible for the disabled.

Lastly, this legislation establishes a new commission - the Election Assistance Commission - to assist states and voters. I want to acknowledge Senator McConnell's pivotal role in conceiving of this commission. In coming years, it will serve as an important source of new ideas and support for states as they take steps to improve the caliber of their elections.

New rights, new responsibilities, new resources. And with them, a new day for our nation's democracy. Almost two years from the 2000 elections, this legislation will help America move beyond the days of hanging chads, butterfly ballots, and illegal purges of qualified voters. It will make the central premise of our democracy - that the people are sovereign - ring even more truly in the years to come.

Before I turn over the microphone to my colleagues, I would be remiss if I did not publicly express my gratitude to my fellow conferees. Without their persistence and patience, we would not be here today.

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