[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 13, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1903-S1904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. NELSON of Florida:
  S. 559. A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require 
a voter-verified permanent paper ballot under title III of such Act, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Voting Integrity and Verification Act, VIVA, of 2007. The time has come 
to ensure that the vote of each American is counted and counted as they 
intended. VIVA will get us closer to that goal by mandating the use of 
voter-

[[Page S1904]]

verified paper ballots in any election with Federal candidates.
  It was President Johnson who helped Black Americans win the right to 
vote, who said, ``The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised 
by man . . .'' Indeed, it is the ability of a nation, like ours, to 
hold free and fair elections, which guarantees our government is based 
on consent of the governed; and, majority rule with minority rights.
  It is the guarantee of a ballot that cools the impassioned hearts of 
many in the electorate, even when a majority of citizens disagree with 
their government over a war, court decision, or action by lawmakers or 
the executive branch.
  For any democracy to long withstand these external and internal 
conflicts, it is vital that the governed have unwavering faith that 
their votes will be counted. Ever since the 2000 Presidential recount 
in Florida and, more recently, the disputed congressional election in 
Sarasota, an increasingly high number of Americans have come to lack 
confidence in the way our States record, tally, and verify votes.
  If this Congress doesn't act to restore voter confidence, I fear our 
democracy--in the words of philosopher and educator Robert Maynard 
Hutchins--could suffer ``a slow extinction from apathy, indifference 
and undernourishment.''
  VIVA authorizes $300 million in Federal funding to assist in the 
implementation of the requirements in this bill. This bill establishes 
mandatory security requirements for voting systems used in Federal 
elections. It also will provide for routine, random audits of paper 
ballots and make it illegal for a chief State election administration 
official to take an active part in a political campaign.
  With another Presidential election on the horizon, we need to fix 
this--and fix it now. Let us never have another election after which 
citizens are left to doubt its legitimacy.
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