[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 14 (Thursday, February 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S836-S838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EQUAL PROTECTION OF VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 2001--Continued
Amendment No. 2898
Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I offer an amendment, No. 2898, to S. 565,
the election reform legislation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Dayton] proposes an
amendment No. 2898.
Mr. DAYTON. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be
dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To establish a pilot program for free postage for absentee
ballots cast in elections for Federal office)
On page 68, between lines 17 and 18, insert the following:
SEC. ____. REDUCED RATE ABSENTEE BALLOT POSTAGE PILOT
PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the
pilot program established under subsection (b).
(2) Postal service.--The term ``Postal Service'' means the
United States Postal Service established under section 201 of
title 39, United States Code.
(b) Establishment.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Federal Election Commission and the Postal Service
shall jointly establish a pilot program under which the
Postal Service shall waive the amount of postage, applicable
with respect to absentee ballots submitted by voters in
general elections for Federal office (other than balloting
materials mailed under section 3406 of title 39, United
States Code). Such pilot program shall not apply with respect
to the postage required to send the absentee ballots to
voters.
(c) Pilot States.--The Federal Election Commission and the
Postal Service shall jointly select a State or States in
which to conduct the pilot program.
(d) Duration.--The pilot program shall be conducted with
respect to absentee ballots submitted in the general election
for Federal office held in 2004.
(e) Public Survey.--In order to assist the Federal Election
Commission in making the determinations under subsection
(f)(1), the Federal Election Commission and the Postal
Service shall jointly conduct a public survey of individuals
who participated in the pilot program.
(f) Study and Report.--
(1) Study.--The Federal Election Commission shall conduct a
study of the pilot program to determine--
(A) the effectiveness of the pilot program;
(B) the feasibility of nationally implementing the pilot
program; and
(C) the demographics of voters who participated in the
pilot program.
(2) Report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than the date that is 90 days
after the date on which the general election for Federal
office for 2004 is held, the Federal Election Commission
shall submit to the Committees on Governmental Affairs and
Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committees on
Government Reform and House Administration of the House of
Representatives a report on the pilot program together with
such recommendations for legislative and administrative
action as the Federal Election Commission determines
appropriate.
(B) Recommendations regarding the elderly and disabled.--
The report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall--
(i) include recommendations of the Federal Election
Commission on whether to expand the pilot program to target
elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities; and
(ii) identify methods of targeting such individuals.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated
$1,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 to carry out this section.
(2) Responsibilities contingent on funding.--The Federal
Election Commission and the Postal Service shall not be
required to carry out any responsibility under this section
unless the amount described in paragraph (1) is appropriated
to carry out this section.
Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, voting is an essential and indispensable
right
[[Page S837]]
of citizenship in a democracy. Throughout our Nation's history, a task
of the Senate and the House has been to remove the barriers to this
right to vote. We have made great progress beyond gender exclusion,
poll taxes, literacy tests, and other historical barriers. Yet our
society is ever changing, and this work is never complete. I applaud
the authors of this legislation, Chairman Dodd, Ranking Member
McConnell, and Senator Bond for their excellent leadership and their
hard work to bring this important bipartisan legislation before us
today. They have performed a great service to our Senate and to our
Nation.
In our national election of the year 2000, only 51 percent of
America's voting age population participated. Although this
participation rate was a 2 percent improvement over the previous
national election, it remains very troubling that only half the
eligible citizens in our country took the time and made the effort to
help choose their leaders.
I am always curious when people say their vote does not count. When
possible, I like to ask, ``Your vote counts one, the same as everyone
else's. How much do you think your vote should count?'' A democracy is
a democracy because every person's vote counts the same as everyone
else's. How much do you think your vote should count? They miss the
essential point, that a democracy is a democracy precisely because
every person's vote counts the same as everyone else's. When a society
reaches a point where some people's votes start counting more than
others, either officially or unofficially, a country is usually sliding
toward rule by a political and economic elite. When only one person's
vote counts, it is a dictatorship.
However, there are still real reasons why some people cannot vote. In
Ely, MN, the City Clerk, Terry Lowell, recognized a problem which
senior citizens and people with disabilities sometimes encounter. A
mail-in ballot is frequently the only way a home-bound citizen can
exercise the right to vote. Yet, something as simple as a postage stamp
can stand in the way. While the cost of mailing a ballot may seem
small, it can also become a matter of practicality--when a person has
difficulty getting out of bed or going to the kitchen, just ``running
out to get a stamp'' is not a simple task as for most of us.
There are also many senior citizens in Minnesota, and probably
elsewhere, who literally watch every penny they must spend. With the
costs of their prescription medicines ever rising beyond their control,
they have not enough money left for food and utilities. Every
additional expenditure, of any amount, is perceived as a burden.
Plus, the way they look at it and the way I look at it, it is a
matter of principle. Voting should be free. Voting is free for able-
bodied citizens. It should be free for everyone else, as well.
My amendment would create a one-time, pilot project in the 2004
national election, to be designed and implemented by the Postal Service
with consultation with the Federal Election Commission. Postage-free
absentee ballots would be provided in one State for that one election.
This pilot project will measure the effect of postage-free absentee
ballots on voting participation by elderly, disabled, and other
citizens. We can then consider whether it would be worthwhile to expand
their use in future elections.
This amendment's passage will also demonstrate that a citizen,
anywhere, can have a good idea and through an elected representative,
actually see that idea turned into law. For that, I salute Terry
Lowell, in Ely, MN.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the
quorum call be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Dayton). The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I commend the Presiding Officer who has just
offered his pilot project amendment.
First, I commend him on the creativity in suggesting a pilot program.
I know his concern would be--the question is obvious--the cost of this
and how well it will work. I think by running a pilot program we can
answer a lot of those questions.
I think the point he made in his remarks deserves repeating. We try
to make, as Senator Bond said so often--I have repeated it, Senator
McConnell said the same thing on many occasions--voting easy, as user
friendly as we possibly can in this country. Every eligible person who
has the right to vote can walk into that polling place, whether it be
in rural or urban America or poor or suburban communities, walk into
that polling place on election day and know he or she is being
received, encouraged and offered the means by which they can cast their
ballot to choose the President of the United States, down to a local
commissioner or board person in their own hometown.
That wonderful right we have that is so unavailable to billions of
people on the face of this Earth still is something we need to make as
easy as possible, as user friendly as possible. Of course, there are
millions of Americans who are homebound, who are overseas, who are in
the military. To make this as free and accessible to them as possible
is something all of us ought to embrace. Therefore, the idea of making
absentee ballots, by which millions of Americans cast their votes, as
free as possible, is something I think is deserving of support,
particularly as a pilot program.
Had the Senator offered this to require it in perpetuity, across the
country, I would have some reservations about what the implications of
that could be. But I think the framing it in a pilot program idea for
the 2004 election is an idea that is worthy of support.
I have submitted the amendment to my friend from Kentucky and his
staff to take a look at it. They are going to be reviewing it. We don't
have an answer yet. My hope is we can accept this and come to some
agreement. I congratulate my friend from Minnesota for offering this
idea to our colleagues.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Akaka). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I am going to proceed to offer three
individual amendments, and I will be asking to lay them aside. But this
way they can be debated tomorrow or Monday when we come back on the
25th. They may be accepted or end up being part of a managers'
amendment but disposed of somehow in order to have them before the
Senate.
Amendment No. 2912
The first amendment is an amendment offered by Senator Harkin, No.
2912. I offer that amendment on behalf of Senator Harkin.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Dodd], for Mr. Harkin,
proposes an amendment numbered 2912.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the
amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To provide funds for protection and advocacy systems)
On page 28 of the amendment, after line 23, add the
following:
(c) Protection and Advocacy Systems.--
(1) In general.--In addition to any other payments made
under this section, the Attorney General shall pay the
protection and advocacy system (as defined in section 102 of
the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights
Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002)) of each State to ensure full
participation in the electoral process for individuals with
disabilities, including registering to vote, casting a vote
and accessing polling places. In providing such services,
protection and advocacy systems shall have the same general
authorities as they are afforded under part C of the
Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act
of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.).
(2) Minimum grant amount.--The minimum amount of each grant
to a protection and advocacy system shall be determined and
allocated as set forth in subsections (c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(5),
(e), and (g) of section 509 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C.
[[Page S838]]
794e), except that the amount of the grants to systems
referred to in subsections (c)(3)(B) and (c)(4)(B) of that
section shall be not less than $70,000 and $35,000,
respectively.
On page 30, strike lines 23 through 25, and insert the
following:
(b) Protection and Advocacy Systems.--In addition to any
other amounts authorized to be appropriated under this
section, there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000
for each of the fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and
for each subsequent fiscal year such sums as may be
necessary, for the purpose of making payments under section
206(c).
(c) Availability.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authority of this section shall remain available until
expended.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Harkin
amendment be temporarily laid aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 2913
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of
Senator Harkin and Senator McCain and ask for its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Dodd] for Mr. Harkin, for
himself and Mr. McCain, proposes an amendment numbered 2913.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the
amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To express the sense of the Congress that curbside voting
should be only an alternative of last resort when providing
accommodations for disabled voters)
At the end add the following:
SEC. ____. VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12101 et seq.) requires that people with disabilities have
the same kind of access to public places as the general
public.
(2) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and
Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.) requires that all
polling places for Federal elections be accessible to the
elderly and the handicapped.
(3) The General Accounting Office in 2001 issued a report
based on their election day random survey of 496 polling
places during the 2000 election across the country and found
that 84 percent of those polling places had one or more
potential impediments that prevented individuals with
disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs, from
independently and privately voting at the polling place in
the same manner as everyone else.
(4) The Department of Justice has interpreted accessible
voting to allow curbside voting or absentee voting in lieu of
making polling places physically accessible.
(5) Curbside voting does not allow the voter the right to
vote in privacy.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the right to vote in a private and independent manner is a
right that should be afforded to all eligible citizens,
including citizens with disabilities, and that curbside
voting should only be an alternative of the last resort in
providing equal voting access to all eligible American
citizens.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment
be temporarily laid aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 2914
Mr. DODD. Lastly, Mr. President, I offer an amendment on behalf of
the Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Dodd], for Mr. Schumer,
proposes an amendment numbered 2914.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To permit the use of a signature or personal mark for the
purpose of verifying the identity of voters who register by mail, and
for other purposes)
Beginning on page 18, line 20, strike through page 19, line
24, and insert the following:
(2) Requirements.--
(A) In general.--An individual meets the requirements of
this paragraph if the individual--
(i) in the case of an individual who votes in person--
(I) presents to the appropriate State or local election
official a current and valid photo identification;
(II) presents to the appropriate State or local election
official a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
Government check, paycheck, or other Government document that
shows the name and address of the voter;
(III) provides written affirmation on a form provided by
the appropriate State or local election official of the
individual's identity; or
(IV) provides a signature or personal mark that matches the
signature or personal mark of the individual on record with a
State or local election official; or
(ii) in the case of an individual who votes by mail,
submits with the ballot--
(I) a copy of a current and valid photo identification;
(II) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
Government check, paycheck, or other Government document that
shows the name and address of the voter; or
(III) provides a signature or personal mark that matches
the signature or personal mark of the individual on record
with a State or local election official.
(B) Provisional voting.--An individual who desires to vote
in person, but who does not meet the requirements of
subparagraph (A)(i), may cast a provisional ballot under
section 102(a).
On page 68, strike lines 19 and 20, and insert the
following:
(a) In General.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to
authorize
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Schumer
amendment be temporarily laid aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I will not go into describing these
amendments. We will leave that for the Members themselves when they
find the time, probably either tomorrow or Monday on the 25th, to come
and explain them.
In the meantime, again, I am going to suggest to Members that with
the finite list of amendments we now have from both the minority and
majority sides, we are going to make an effort to accommodate as many
of these amendments as we can, to try to see if we can accept them or
suggest maybe modifications that would make the amendments acceptable;
or if that is not possible, then certainly provide the time on Monday,
the 25th, or tomorrow, for these amendments to be debated, with
Tuesday, the 26th, being the day on which amendments would be voted
upon, those that had not been resolved or accepted or made part of a
managers' amendment.
That is the idea. That is the goal, so to speak, we are trying to
achieve with all of this.
So with that, Mr. President, I do not know if I have any additional
amendments at this point to submit. That being the case, I note the
presence of my friend and colleague from Nevada. I see he has some big,
white cardboard pieces in his hands, which usually indicate a chart and
a speech. So I think we are going to hear some words.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada is recognized.
Mr. REID. First of all, I say to my friend from Connecticut, what a
great job you have done on the bill today. We have made tremendous
progress. We have a list of amendments. I will be happy to work with
the Senator tomorrow, and the days after that, and, hopefully, we can
pass this bill Tuesday. That would be a great mark for the American
people.
____________________