[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E241-E242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 H.R. 775: IMPROVING OUR ELECTION LAWS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 28, 2001

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join today with our colleague, 
Mr. Hoyer, and others in introducing the Voting Improvement Act of 
2001. As we all know, the past election

[[Page E242]]

produced a great deal of confusion, turmoil and uncertainty. Although 
there were a number of factors in producing that confusion, one major 
factor in Florida and other states was the continuing use of outdated 
and even antiquated punch-card voting systems.
  The bill we are introducing today tackles this problem immediately 
and directly by establishing a grant program for the states to replace 
all punch card systems before the next federal election in 2002. In 
short, this bill provides a practical solution for solving some of our 
most troublesome voting equipment problems.
  As Mr. Hoyer has noted, punch card systems have the highest rate of 
error among all voting methods--one study by MIT and Caltech recently 
estimated that the nationwide error rate for punch cards is 2.5 
percent. In a national election, that would mean that nearly I million 
votes are thrown out and never counted due to mistakes caused by punch 
card systems. Clearly, we need to make replacement of these antiquated 
systems a high priority.
  In addition to immediate equipment replacement, this bill establishes 
an ongoing grant program to assure that new voting systems are 
developed and deployed so that voters have up-to-date systems in the 
future. The bill also assures that voter education and training of poll 
workers are given increased attention and support. And, it establishes 
a permanent bipartisan commission to act as a nationwide resource for 
information gathering and studying the ``best practices'' for ballot 
design and other basic election needs.
  Mr. Speaker, the Voting Improvement Act is one of several proposals 
being introduced for overhauling our election laws and making certain 
that we never repeat the chaos of the past election. All of these 
demand careful review and the development of a bipartisan consensus for 
sound reform. This bill sets clear priorities and offers practical 
solutions that must be part of any final reform plan. I urge our 
colleagues to join us in this effort.

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