[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2219-E2220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   IMPROVING AMERICA'S VOTING SYSTEMS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 15, 2000

  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to join my colleague and 
friend, the gentleman from Virginia, Tom Davis, and the gentleman from 
Rhode Island, Patrick Kennedy, in introducing legislation to improve 
our Nation's voting systems.
  Our message today is simple: While we will never have a perfect 
system for electing our leaders, we must always seek improvements to 
that system so the will of the American people always prevails. 
Improving our voting systems will not be a simple task. But we will 
achieve our goal in our nation's best traditions of open debate and 
bipartisan consensus. One encouraging development from this year's 
Presidential election, is that it has prompted an important debate, 
about the problems with our various voting systems across the country 
and how we must work together to improve them. We believe one way to 
improve the system is by creating a strong, bipartisan council, to be 
known as the ``Commission on Electoral Administration.'' The Commission 
would be charged with reviewing how we conduct our elections across the 
country, and issuing recommendations to make sure that the difficulties 
experienced by the voters of Florida do not occur again.
  The Commission would be funded with $100 million. The money would be 
dispersed as voluntary matching grants, to states and local

[[Page E2220]]

communities that choose to implement the commission's modernization 
recommendations. This effort is in no way an attempt to federalize 
state or local elections. It is, quite simply, a way to give local 
communities the financial help they need to purchase better election 
equipment and to run fairer, more accurate elections. Despite some of 
the inflammatory rhetoric of the past few weeks, I know that members on 
both sides of the aisle want to have the best process for voting and 
the most accurate method of counting those votes.
  Our ultimate goal must be to ensure that every American is heard when 
they go to vote. It is in our national interest to do so. I believe 
this legislation will take us one step closer to that goal.

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