Representative Rush Holt held a press conference today to address irregularities with some electronic voting machines in last week's elections.
As we stand here today, the results in at least one House race remain unknown because thousands of votes were lost by electronic voting machines. Until we require that these systems produce a voter-verified paper audit trail, voters will continue to doubt the outcomes of elections involving these machines, because the results will be unauditable.
The inaccuracy of electronic touch-screen voting machines poses a direct threat to the integrity of our electoral system and to our nation’s democracy. Once again this broken system has been exposed in Florida’s 13th Congressional district where over 18,000 votes went uncounted. Without the means to fully guarantee that every vote is counted as fairly and accurately as possible, the authenticity of our recorded vote will always be uncertain and open to electoral and legal challenges.
Require that voters have the opportunity to verify the accuracy of an archival copy of their recorded vote.
Require that all voting systems produce a voter-verified paper record for use in manual audits. (Funding of $150 million is authorized to help states meet the cost of implementing this requirement.)
Preserve HAVA's existing access requirements for voters with disabilities and add the requirement that an accessible voter-verification mechanism be provided.
Ban the use of undisclosed software and all wireless and concealed communications devices in voting systems, and prohibiting the connection of any voting machine component to the Internet.
Require random, unannounced, hand-count audits of the voter-verified paper records in 2% of all precincts, including at least 1 precinct per county. Such funds as may be necessary are authorized to fund the expense of the audits.
Require manufacturers and election officials to document the chain of custody with respect to the handling of software; prohibit the use of software that has not been disclosed to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission; prohibit the use of software or software modifications that have not been certified or re-certified; and prohibit political and financial conflicts of interest among manufactures, test laboratories, and political parties.
Establish procedures to be followed if there is a discrepancy between reported results and audit results, and preserving the rights of individuals and the Attorney General's authority to pursue legal resolution of the discrepancies.
