Restoring Election Integrity

By Rush Holt     09 September 2005

Thomas Paine wrote that the right to vote is "the primary right by which other rights are protected."

Sep 09, 2005 06:16:12 PM EST
I recently joined some of my colleagues and civil rights activists in commemorating the 40th anniversary of enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a watershed moment in American history.  This commemoration served as an important reminder of the brave fights that citizens have conducted to obtain and protect their right to vote.

The sacrifices of voting rights activists over the past century - like my friend Representative John Lewis, and those who bravely registered black voters in the south in the 1960s, despite violent opposition - have paved the way for the enfranchisement that we all seek. The Voting Rights Act has made progress possible, but there is still more to be done.

Application of the Voting Rights Act faces challenges in the 21st century. The 2000 and 2004 presidential elections demonstrated that disenfranchisement, though legally abolished, still exists in practice. In order to preserve influence of the Voting Rights Act, key protections of which are scheduled to expire in 2007, we must address voting irregularities that occurred in recent elections.

I take it as one of my most important responsibilities to help foster and restore citizen faith in their representative government.  In Congress, I try to conduct all of my activities with an eye towards this goal.  That is why it is so important to protect the integrity of the vote, the primary right by which other rights are protected. 

The elected officials of this nation will never be able to foster or restore this faith if they do not take strong action to protect the integrity of every vote.  Among the steps we must take to encourage participation and protect the integrity of every vote are:
*    Stopping improper purging of voter rolls,
*    Ensuring proactive and inclusive voter registration policies,
*    Putting an end to voter intimidation and suppression,
*    Ensuring uniform and fair enforcement of provisional ballot rules,
*    Mitigating unmanageable lines at polling places,
*    Implementing fair voter identification measures that are not subject to uneven enforcement,
*    Monitoring and punishing deceptive practices like distribution of inaccurate information to voters.

Failing to accomplish such goals would serve to diminish the important rights for which so many have fought, and yes, died.

About one-third of all Americans now vote on new electronic voting machines.  Such machines, while clear and easy to use, also provide no mechanism for voter verification or reliable audit, and have been proven extremely susceptible to error or tampering.  Many of you who read this may have been following the progress of my legislation to require a voter-verified paper record for every vote cast (The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessability Act, H.R. 550).  I believe that this legislation is critically important, as there is currently no way to verify and independently audit new electronic voting machines.  Only each voter can verify the accuracy of the vote that he or she cast in the secret booth.  The bill has strong bipartisan support and has benefited from the hard work and advocacy of thousands of citizens across the country. 

Since 2003, I have been working to convince critics that the absence of evidence of inaccurate vote counts or intentional fraud does not mitigate the need for my legislation.  In fact, the lack of evidence itself is the problem.  How can we possibly be sure that the vote counts are accurate if the voter is unable to verify the ballot, and election officials have no way to conduct a recount?

Please visit my website at www.holt.house.gov to learn more about my efforts to address these shortcomings in electronic voting systems.

When I speak with students, I often ask, "What is the greatest invention in history?'' Knowing of my background in physics, they usually suggest some scientific invention. In fact, I believe the greatest invention is our system of Constitutional democracy. It has transformed not just America, but the world, demonstrating that peaceful and productive government with the consent of the governed is possible. That consent is given by the vote.

The trust that voters grant elected officials through the ballot is too sacred to allow continuation of a system that is neither verifiable nor auditable.  Indeed, it jeopardizes every other right that we enjoy.  Election reform that enables auditable elections and strengthens voter rights is not only overdue, it is fundamental to the health of our democracy.