[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 70 (Monday, May 21, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E861-E862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMPREHENSIVE ELECTION REFORM LEGISLATION NEEDED

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2001

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the events ensuing since last 
year's election have placed election reform on the top of the priority 
list of the American people. There is no question that what occurred in 
Florida following last year highlighted many of the problems in 
Florida's own election system. But as my colleagues on the Democratic 
Special Committee on Election Reform will agree, what occurred in 
Florida last November is not unique. Indeed, it is a microcosm of the 
problems that exist in nearly every jurisdiction in the United States. 
The travesties Florida voters faced last November are a representative 
sample of the problems voters face throughout the United States.
  Civil rights violations, lack of provisional ballots, increasing 
amounts of overvotes and undervotes, uneducated voters and poll 
workers, outdated voting machines, the purging of the names of eligible 
voters, confusing ballots, and not enough funding to improve voting 
systems, are not unique to Florida. These problems are not unique to 
any city, county, or state in the country. Instead, they are universal 
problems that exist from state to state, city to city, and precinct to 
precinct.
  While no silver bullet exists, the problems in our country's election 
system do have solutions. In the past five months, more than 1,500 
election reform bills have been introduced in state legislatures across 
the country, and 31 states have considered or are considering 
legislation to upgrade or make uniform their voting standards. On May 
2, 2001, the Florida State Legislature joined Georgia's General 
Assembly as the only two bodies in the U.S. to pass comprehensive 
election reform legislation.
  But as states such as Florida and Georgia continue to pass election 
reform legislation, Members of Congress cannot go home and tell their 
constituents that help from the federal government is on the way. As of 
today, help from the federal government is not on the way. In the 107th 
Congress, 28 bills and two resolutions addressing some aspect of 
election reform have been introduced. 16 bills and

[[Page E862]]

two resolutions have been introduced here in the House of 
Representatives, and 12 bills have been introduced in the Senate. Yet 
despite the overwhelming support for election reform, Congress has not 
acted on any piece of election reform legislation. Even more, just last 
week, the House and the Senate both passed budgets that provide no 
funding for election reform.
  On top of that, the Bush Administration has not only refused to make 
election reform a priority, but it has also refused to even comment on 
it. At a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus eleven days into 
his presidency, President Bush indicated that he intended to make 
election reform a priority of his Administration. This promise, 
however, has been nothing more than words. Election reform is an issue 
that demands presidential leadership in order to succeed. President 
Bush has not been up to the task.
  In order for election reform in this country to be a success, a 
partnership must be forged between the states and the federal 
government. Improving voting systems and investing in voter education 
programs is not cheap. It costs money--a lot of money. It is 
disheartening to think that as states revise and revamp their election 
systems, the federal government is not there to assist them in their 
efforts. It is both unfair and unrealistic for states to spend millions 
of dollars updating their election systems and incur the associated 
costs without the federal government helping out. I am confident that 
state legislatures will continue to address the specific problems that 
exist in their state's election system, but I am less optimistic that 
Congress, under Republican leadership, will take the necessary steps to 
reinstall America's confidence in its election process. If Congress 
does not play a part, particularly in the area of funding, then it is 
almost certain that the majority of these state initiated election 
reform programs will fall well short of satisfactory.
  We have a unique opportunity here in Congress to reassure every 
American that he or she will never be denied the right to vote. 
Congress can create universal standards that do not infringe upon a 
state's authority to oversee its own election process, and at the same 
time, ensure that every vote is counted. Former President Jimmy Carter 
has gone so far as to say, ``The Carter Center has standards for 
participation as a monitor of an election, and the United States of 
America would not qualify at all.'' This is more than embarrassing, it 
is shameful.
  In the coming weeks, Congress must address the problems that exist in 
the American election process. Congress needs to pass a universal 
provisional ballot measure that requires poll workers to offer any 
person not appearing on the eligible voters list the opportunity to 
cast a provisional ballot. In addition, Congress needs to pass a 
universal anti-purging measure to reinforce the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993. Congress also needs to provide funding to 
states to assist them in the upgrading of their election programs. 
Finally, Congress needs to address other possible means of election 
reform including universal poll closing times, lengthening the amount 
of time Americans have to vote, the counting of military and overseas 
ballots, and voter and poll worker education and training.
  Mr. Speaker, time is running out for Congress to pass meaningful 
election reform legislation. America's election process has fallen 
under the scrutiny of the people it seeks to empower. Without the 
support of the federal government, not matter how much legislation 
states pass and how hard states attempt to reassure their citizens that 
the problems of Election 2000 have been solved, voters will remain 
skeptical. People will walk away from the polls wondering if their vote 
will count. This cannot happen. If Congress does not act immediately, 
then the lessons learned from the disasters of last year's election 
will be lost. Quite frankly, this is not something the people of South 
Florida and the rest of the country want to hear.

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