As you know, touchscreen voting machines are arguably the most versatile and user-friendly of any current voting system. Their use is expected to increase substantially under provisions of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), especially the requirement that, beginning in 2006, each polling place used in a federal election have at least one voting machine that is fully accessible for persons with disabilities.

Unfortunately, there appears to be an emerging consensus that touchscreen machines do not provide adequate protections against tampering and fraud. In fact, recent reports analyzing security vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems concluded that all three of the nation’s most commonly purchased electronic voting systems are vulnerable to software attacks that could threaten the integrity of a state or national election.

I strongly believe that Congress must take action to make electronic voting machines less vulnerable to fraud and ensure that all touch-screen machines produce a paper copy of a voter’s selections. For this reason, I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 811, legislation requiring electronic voting machines produce a paper record of all votes. I believe this will help to restore public confidence in the election process while providing for accurate recounts in the case of machine error.

While I am confident that legislation like H.R. 811 will increase the integrity of our nation’s election systems, I am opposed to any effort that results in an unfunded mandate on state and local governments. Since this bill was approved by the Committee on House Administration, I have worked diligently with my colleagues in Congress to improve the bill, including drafting an amendment to ensure that all funding that is necessary for state and local governments to comply with the H.R. 811 mandates that take effect in 2008 should be fully appropriated in a timely manner.

Congress should not continue passing unfunded mandates like the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and other laws that mandated requirements on state and local governments without providing all the money necessary for state and local governments to meet those mandates.

Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), the sponsor of H.R. 811 has responded to these concerns by drafting H.R. 5036, the Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections (EASE) Act. The EASE Act would establish a voluntary program where states that utilize HAVA-compliant direct recording electronic voting systems - such as Kansas - may be reimbursed for any additional costs to either convert or provide emergency paper ballots. H.R. 5036 awaits consideration by two House committees.

Congress should work closely with state and local election officials to strengthen our election laws so the American people have full confidence in every election they participate in.