[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 29, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2086]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RESTORING CONFIDENCE IN ABSENTEE VOTING

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                         HON. CANDICE S. MILLER

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2009

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Madam Speaker, before I came to Congress, I 
had the privilege of serving 8 years as Michigan's Secretary of State. 
In that job, one of my key responsibilities was to serve as the state's 
Chief Elections Officer. During my tenure, we made great strides in 
improving the accuracy and security of the elections system in our 
state.
  However, as any former or current Secretary of State can tell you, 
one of the greatest challenges you have is convincing non-voters--those 
who are eligible to vote, and may be registered, but fail to 
participate in the electoral process. One of the common challenges in 
changing the views of these citizens is countering the belief that the 
system doesn't work either due to corruption or negligence or some 
other issue. So, these citizens fail to exercise their 
Constitutionally-given rights to choose their government, and they 
don't vote.
  As elected officials, we need to take whatever measures we can to 
increase the public's confidence in the voting system. One of the 
greatest achievements of my tenure as Secretary of State was the 
creation of the Qualified Voter File, which provided for easy 
determination of who is and is not a registered voter. In fact, the 
Ford-Carter Commission on Federal Election Reform cited Michigan as a 
national model in this area. This device was critical to ensuring that 
we have full voter participation and that no one is needlessly 
disenfranchised.
  Absentee ballots, historically, have been an area that has 
contributed to this perception. Many have seen these ballots as ripe 
for corruption and many voters are unsure what happens with their 
ballots after they mail them in. The bill we are considering today will 
go a long way towards correcting these perceptions.
  H.R. 2510, the Absentee Ballot Track Receive and Confirm Act, 
authorizes grants to states that choose to establish procedures to 
track absentee mail-in ballots. These systems would allow voters to 
find out for themselves the status of their absentee ballot. Voters 
will now be able to determine when their ballot should arrive, if the 
elections office received it and whether it was counted.
  Additionally, this measure protects the secrecy of the ballot by only 
marking the outside ballot envelopes. No other information about the 
voter or how that vote was cast will be recorded.
  The right to vote is one of the most cherished rights that we have as 
citizens. This measure will reduce the potential for fraud and restore 
confidence in absentee voting among the public. Furthermore, absentee 
voters will gain the knowledge that their vote has been counted and 
they are not being disenfranchised through the process.
  I urge my colleagues to support the measure.

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