[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10694-S10696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Obama):
   S. 4018. A bill to establish a Vote by Mail grant program; to the 
Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, when many Americans think of voting, they 
think of long lines, malfunctioning equipment, closed polls, or even 
worse, fraud. That's why so many Americans don't bother to vote. But in 
my home State of Oregon, folks vote by mail and these sorts of problems 
are a thing of the past.
  So today I come to the floor to talk about the sorry state of the 
Nation's election system and discuss my bill, the Vote by Mail Act of 
2006.
  There is nothing more fundamental than the right to vote. It is the 
foundation on which our democracy rests. Weaken the right to vote and 
you weaken America.
  It's been almost 6 years since the 2000 Florida hanging chad debacle. 
And yet, problems with America's election system--and waning confidence 
in that system--persist.
  This year's primary elections were no exception to the rule:
  In Montgomery County, MD, polling places opened late because election 
officials forgot to distribute the access cards necessary to run the 
voting machines. Voters resorted to filling out provisional ballots and 
when those ran out, they used photocopied ballots and even scraps of 
paper.
  Next door, in Prince George's County, MD, a handful of errors--
computers incorrectly identifying voters' party affiliation, electronic 
voter registration lists freezing up, and voting machines failing to 
transmit data--delayed results of a hotly contested election and may 
result in a lawsuit.
  Long lines, a lack of machines at certain polling places, and other 
irregularities cast a black mark on Ohio's 2004 Presidential election 
results. Unfortunately, this year's primary elections were also plagued 
by problems. In Cuyahoga County, Ohio's largest county, thousands of 
absentee ballots were incorrectly formatted for electronic scanners and 
had to be counted by hand. And problems with about 10 percent of the 
paper ballots cast meant that they couldn't be counted at all.
  In Cook County, IL, new voting technology created headaches at 
hundreds of voting sites around the county, which delayed results in a 
decisive county board race.
  And in Tarrant County, TX, voting machines counted ballots as many as 
six times, which meant that 100,000 more votes were recorded than were 
actually cast.
  These are just a few recent examples of election system snafus that 
have raised concerns about voting system accuracy and reliability, 
concerns that have led some states to reconsider their election plans.
  Last week, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich suggested that the state 
scrap its new electronic voting system and return to paper ballots. 
Earlier this year, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico got rid of 
his touch-screen voting machines. Connecticut's Secretary of State did 
the same. Both states have decided to use paper ballots and optical 
scanners instead of electronic machines.
  But as Florida reminds us, paper isn't perfect either and right now--
electronic or paper--you can expect there to be lot of problems come 
November 7th.
  Hopefully, these problems won't affect the outcome of any election. I 
sure hope they don't. But whether they do or not, the Election Day 
problems that I expect will plague states and counties around the 
nation will push voter confidence in our election system further into 
the basement.
  It's too late for Congress to do much of anything to fix the problem 
before the 2006 elections. But we can do something to make sure these 
problems don't arise ever again.
  So today, along with my esteemed colleagues, Senator John Kerry of 
Massachusetts and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, I am introducing 
the Vote by Mail Act of 2006, a bill that will make Election Day 
problems a thing of the past and quickly and effectively reinvigorate 
Americans' confidence in their election system and in their democracy.
  The bill creates a three year, $110 million grant program to help 
interested states adopt vote by mail election systems like the one that 
Oregon voters have been successfully using for some time now.
  It's a pretty simple system. Voters get their ballots in the mail. 
Wherever and whenever they would like, right up to Election Day, voters 
complete their ballots and return them.
  With vote by mail, polls don't open late.
  With vote by mail, there aren't any long lines at the polls.
  With vote by mail, there's no more confusion about where you are 
supposed to vote.
  There's no more debate about whether you are on the voting rolls--
either you get the ballot in the mail, or you don't. If you don't, you 
have time to contact your election officials to sort it out.
  Vote by mail means almost no chance of voter fraud because trained 
election officials match the signature on each ballot against the 
signature on each voter's registration card.
  No ballot is processed or counted until everyone is satisfied that 
the two signatures match.
  With vote by mail, you've got a paper trail. Each voter marks up his 
ballot and sends it in. That ballot is counted and then becomes the 
paper record used in the event of a recount.
  With vote by mail, there's much less risk of voter intimidation. 
That's why a 2003 study of Oregon voters showed that those groups that 
would likely be most vulnerable to coercion actually prefer vote by 
mail.
  Vote by mail results in more informed voters. Because folks get their 
ballots weeks before the election, they have the time they need to get 
educated about the candidates and the issues, and deliberate in a way 
not possible at a polling place.
  Vote by mail leads to huge election costs savings because it gets rid 
of the need to transport equipment to polling stations and to hire and 
train poll workers. Oregon has reduced its election-related costs by 30 
percent since implementing vote by mail. I expect that other states 
that adopt vote by mail will see the same results.
  Vote by mail can help make the problems of recent elections a thing 
of the past. In doing so, it will make our elections fairer and help 
reinstill faith in our democracy.
  Vote by mail works. And that's why Senator Kerry and Senator Obama 
and I are introducing the Vote by Mail Act of 2006 today.
  It gives States funds that they can use to make the transition away 
from the traditional voting methods that have led to so many problems, 
so many concerns, and so little confidence in the American election 
system.
  It gives States funds that they can use to adopt Oregon-style vote by 
mail with the technical assistance and the guidance of the Election 
Assistance Commission.
  I believe that the Vote by Mail Act of 2006 can fix our election 
system once and for all.
  One final point: the Help Americans Vote Act, also know as HAVA, 
takes important steps to ensure equal access to voting for all 
Americans. HAVA's protections are particularly important to voters with 
disabilities, and it is our responsibility to keep building on that 
foundation. Nothing in this bill undermines or changes those aspects of 
HAVA that require vote by mail systems to be just as accessible as any 
other voting method.
  While I think Oregon has proven that people with disabilities can 
benefit from vote by mail, it is important to keep working with the 
people who know these issues best to make sure the right to vote is 
protected. And Senator Kerry, Senator Obama, and I look forward to 
working with disabled and other civil rights organizations, election 
reform groups, community organizations and the voters themselves to 
ensure that the Vote by Mail Act of 2006 further promotes access to the 
polls for individuals with disabilities.
  So I urge my colleagues to seriously consider this bill and urge them 
to support it. Vote by mail has been an enormous success in Oregon. I 
am sure that

[[Page S10695]]

other States that adopt it will see the same benefits. This bill helps 
ensure that States have that opportunity.
  I asked for unanimous consent that my statement be printed into the 
Record and I ask for unanimous consent that the text of the Vote by 
Mail Act of 2006 be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 4018

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Vote by Mail Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The Supreme Court declared in Reynolds v. Sims that 
     ``[i]t has been repeatedly recognized that all qualified 
     voters have a constitutionally protected right to vote . . . 
     and to have their votes counted.''.
       (2) In the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, voting 
     technology failures and procedural irregularities deprived 
     some Americans of their fundamental right to vote.
       (3) In 2000, faulty punch card ballots and other equipment 
     failures prevented accurate vote counts nationwide. A report 
     by the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project estimates that 
     approximately 1,500,000 votes for president were intended to 
     be cast but not counted in the 2000 election because of 
     equipment failures.
       (4) In 2004, software errors, malfunctioning electronic 
     voting systems, and long lines at the polls prevented 
     accurate vote counts and prevented some people from voting. 
     For instance, voters at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio 
     waited in line for up to 12 hours because there were only 2 
     machines available for 1,300 voters.
       (5) Under the Oregon Vote by Mail system, election 
     officials mail ballots to all registered voters at least 2 
     weeks before election day. Voters mark their ballots, seal 
     the ballots in both unmarked secrecy envelopes and signed 
     return envelopes, and return the ballots by mail or to secure 
     drop boxes. Once a ballot is received, election officials 
     scan the bar code on the ballot envelope, which brings up the 
     voter's signature on a computer screen. The election official 
     compares the signature on the screen and the signature on the 
     ballot envelope. Only if the signature on the ballot envelope 
     is determined to be authentic is the ballot forwarded on to 
     be counted.
       (6) Oregon's Vote by Mail system has resulted in an 
     extremely low rate of voter fraud because the system includes 
     numerous security measures such as the signature 
     authentication system. Potential misconduct is also deterred 
     by the power of the State to punish those who engage in voter 
     fraud with up to five years in prison, $100,000 in fines, and 
     the loss of their vote.
       (7) Vote by Mail is one factor making voter turnout in 
     Oregon consistently higher than the average national voter 
     turnout. For example, Oregon experienced a record voting-age-
     eligible population turnout of 70.6 percent in the 2004 
     presidential election, compared to 58.4 percent nationally. 
     Oregon's turnout of registered voters for that election was 
     86.48 percent.
       (8) Women, younger voters, and homemakers also report that 
     they vote more often using Vote by Mail.
       (9) Vote by Mail reduces election costs by eliminating the 
     need to transport equipment to polling stations and to hire 
     and train poll workers. Oregon has reduced its election-
     related costs by 30 percent since implementing Vote by Mail.
       (10) Vote by Mail allows voters to educate themselves 
     because they receive ballots well before election day, which 
     provides them with ample time to research issues, study 
     ballots, and deliberate in a way that is not possible at a 
     polling place.
       (11) Vote by Mail is accurate--at least 2 studies comparing 
     voting technologies show that absentee voting methods, 
     including Vote by Mail systems, result in a more accurate 
     vote count.
       (12) Vote by Mail results in more up-to-date voter rolls, 
     since election officials use forwarding information from the 
     post office to update voter registration.
       (13) Vote by Mail allows voters to visually verify that 
     their votes were cast correctly and produces a paper trail 
     for recounts.
       (14) In a survey taken 5 years after Oregon implemented the 
     Vote by Mail system, more than 8 in 10 Oregon voters said 
     they preferred voting by mail to traditional voting.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Election.--The term ``election'' means any general, 
     special, primary, or runoff election.
       (2) Participating state.--The term ``participating State'' 
     means a State receiving a grant under the Vote by Mail grant 
     program under section 4.
       (3) State.--The term ``State'' means a State of the United 
     States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
     Rico, or a territory or possession of the United States.
       (4) Voting system.--The term ``voting system'' has the 
     meaning given such term under section 301(b) of the Help 
     America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(b)).

     SEC. 4. VOTE BY MAIL GRANT PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 270 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance Commission 
     shall establish a Vote by Mail grant program (in this section 
     referred to as the ``program'').
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program is to make 
     implementation grants to participating States solely for the 
     implementation of procedures for the conduct of all elections 
     by mail at the State or local government level.
       (c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--In no case may grants made 
     under this section be used to reimburse a State for costs 
     incurred in implementing mail-in voting for elections at the 
     State or local government level if such costs were incurred 
     prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
       (d) Application.--A State seeking to participate in the 
     program under this section shall submit an application to the 
     Election Assistance Commission containing such information, 
     and at such time as, the Election Assistance Commission may 
     specify.
       (e) Amount and Number of Implementation Grants; Duration of 
     Program.--
       (1) Amount of grants.--
       (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the amount of 
     an implementation grant made to a participating State shall 
     be, in the case of a State that certifies that it will 
     implement all elections by mail in accordance with the 
     requirements of subsection (f), with respect to--
       (i) the entire State, $2,000,000; or
       (ii) any single unit or multiple units of local government 
     within the State, $1,000,000.
       (B) Excess funds.--
       (i) In general.--The Election Assistance Commission shall 
     establish a process to distribute excess funds to 
     participating States. The process shall ensure that such 
     funds are allocated among participating States in an 
     equitable manner, based on the number of registered voters in 
     the area in which the State certifies that it will implement 
     all of its elections by mail under subparagraph (A).
       (ii) Excess funds defined.--For purposes of clause (i), the 
     term ``excess funds'' means any amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to the authorization under subsection (h)(1) with respect to 
     a fiscal year that are not awarded to a participating State 
     under an implementation grant during such fiscal year.
       (C) Continuing availability of funds after appropriation.--
     An implementation grant made to a participating State under 
     this section shall be available to the State without fiscal 
     year limitation.
       (2) Number of implementation grants.--
       (A) In general.--The Election Assistance Commission shall 
     award an implementation grant to up to 18 participating 
     States under this section during each year in which the 
     program is conducted.
       (B) One grant per state.--The Election Assistance 
     Commission shall not award more than 1 implementation grant 
     to any participating State under this section over the 
     duration of the program.
       (3) Duration.--The program shall be conducted for a period 
     of 3 years.
       (f) Requirements.--
       (1) Required procedures.--A participating State shall 
     establish and implement procedures for conducting all 
     elections by mail in the area with respect to which it 
     receives an implementation grant to conduct such elections, 
     including the following:
       (A) A process for recording electronically each voter's 
     registration information and signature.
       (B) A process for mailing ballots to all eligible voters.
       (C) The designation of places for the deposit of ballots 
     cast in an election.
       (D) A process for ensuring the secrecy and integrity of 
     ballots cast in the election.
       (E) Procedures and penalties for preventing election fraud 
     and ballot tampering, including procedures for the 
     verification of the signature of the voter accompanying the 
     ballot through comparison of such signature with the 
     signature of the voter maintained by the State in accordance 
     with subparagraph (A).
       (F) Procedures for verifying that a ballot has been 
     received by the appropriate authority.
       (G) Procedures for obtaining a replacement ballot in the 
     case of a ballot which is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not 
     received by the voter.
       (H) A plan for training election workers in signature 
     verification techniques.
       (I) Plans and procedures to ensure that voters who are 
     blind, visually-impaired, or otherwise disabled have the 
     opportunity to participate in elections conducted by mail and 
     to ensure compliance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
     Such plans and procedures shall be developed in consultation 
     with disabled and other civil rights organizations, voting 
     rights groups, State election officials, voter protection 
     groups, and other interested community organizations.
       (g) Best Practices, Technical Assistance, and Reports.--The 
     Election Assistance Commission shall--
       (1) develop, periodically issue, and, as appropriate, 
     update best practices for conducting elections by mail;
       (2) provide technical assistance to participating States 
     for the purpose of implementing procedures for conducting 
     elections by mail; and
       (3) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress--
       (A) annual reports on the implementation of such procedures 
     by participating States during each year in which the program 
     is conducted; and

[[Page S10696]]

       (B) upon completion of the program conducted under this 
     section, a final report on the program, together with 
     recommendations for such legislation or administrative action 
     as the Election Assistance Commission determines to be 
     appropriate.
       (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) Grants.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     award grants under this section, for each of fiscal years 
     2007 through 2009, $36,000,000, to remain available without 
     fiscal year limitation until expended.
       (2) Administration.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated to administer the program under this section, 
     $2,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2009, 
     to remain available without fiscal year limitation until 
     expended.
       (i) Rule of Construction.--In no case shall any provision 
     of this section be construed as affecting or replacing any 
     provisions or requirements under the Help America Vote Act of 
     2002, or any other laws relating to the conduct of Federal 
     elections.

     SEC. 5. STUDY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF MAIL-IN VOTING FOR 
                   ELECTIONS.

       (a) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States (in this section referred to as the ``Comptroller 
     General'') shall conduct a study evaluating the benefits of 
     nationwide implementation of mail-in voting in elections, 
     taking into consideration the annual reports submitted by the 
     Election Assistance Commission under section 4(f)(3)(A) 
     before November 1, 2009.
       (2) Specific issues studied.--The study conducted under 
     paragraph (1) shall include a comparison of traditional 
     voting methods and mail-in voting with respect to--
       (A) the likelihood of voter fraud and misconduct;
       (B) accuracy of voter rolls;
       (C) accuracy of election results;
       (D) voter participation in urban and rural communities and 
     by minorities, language minorities (as defined in section 203 
     of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa-1a)), and 
     individuals with disabilities; and
       (E) public confidence in the election system.
       (b) Report.--Not later than November 1, 2009, the 
     Comptroller General shall prepare and submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report on the study 
     conducted under subsection (a), together with such 
     recommendations for legislation or administrative action as 
     the Comptroller General determines to be appropriate.
                                 ______