Democrats pushing for voting reform
By Klaus Marre

Democrats renewed their call for voting reform yesterday as paperless voting systems continued to come under fire.

Still aggrieved by the result of the 2000 Florida election, which many Democrats say was stolen, proponents of reform hope the states will address the issue because legislation requiring a voter verified paper trail is unlikely to pass this year.

Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) said the paper audit safeguard is the “central piece” of insurance that votes are counted correctly. Holt said attention to the issue has increased dramatically in the past year and his bill has more than 140 cosponsors.

The lawmaker said voter concern has pushed the visibility of the issue, which was how representative government is supposed to work.

Holt credited former presidential candidate and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) with energizing the effort.

Dean said he first thought, when the issue was brought up in meetings with his supporters, that he was dealing with “conspiracy theorists” and “whackos.”

“Paperless electronic voting machines should not be used until they are reliable and will allow recounts,” Dean said. “In a democracy you always count the votes no matter who wins. To abandon that principle is to abandon America.”
Dean said that he is worried that people begin to think their votes do not count.

The issue should not be a partisan one, he said, and he called on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to bring up Holt’s bill “so that whoever wins the next election we can honestly call president.”

The remark is one of many thinly veiled references to the Florida election that Democrats have made this week.

Florida Delegate Jacques Despinosse said, “something went wrong” in his state.

“We have been preparing ourselves for revenge,” he added, saying there would not be a repetition of the controversy of four years ago.
Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) said he believes Floridians “especially feel a sense of responsibility” because of 2000.

Voting reform is part of this year’s Democratic platform, which states: “We will call for legislative action that will fully protect and enforce the fundamental
Constitutional right of every American to vote – to ensure that the Constitution’s promise is fully realized and that, in disputed elections, every vote is counted fully and fairly.

“To advance these goals, and to guarantee the integrity of our elections and to increase voter confidence, we will seek action to ensure that voting systems are accessible, independently auditable, accurate, and secure.”

Holt praised his party for including this language but emphasized that the states have to act “immediately” to “translate that principle into practice.”

If states do not act now, “as many as 50 million votes this November will be inauditable. No paper, no audit. It’s that simple,” the lawmaker added.