[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 3, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E204-E205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANDRE CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 2, 2021

  Mr. CARSON. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support for H.R. 1, the 
For the People Act, and am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill. It 
will fight big money in politics, take on the power of special 
interests, end dark money, and ensure public officials are working in 
the public interest. It will expand voting rights to ensure we have 
secure, accurate elections and stop voter suppression efforts designed 
to keep people from voting based on their perceived political 
preferences. It ends extreme partisan gerrymandering by creating a non-
partisan, open process to draw transparent and fair congressional 
district maps. This bill will also hold elected officials accountable 
by implementing tougher ethics laws to ensure elected officials are 
held accountable.
  I am also proud to cosponsor an important amendment to this bill with 
my colleague Congresswoman Speier. Our amendment extends the statute of 
limitations on campaign finance violations. As a former law enforcement 
officer, I know that extending the statute of limitations is necessary 
to improve accountability and ensure that those who break campaign 
finance laws and then try to hide their actions can be brought to 
justice. As we have learned in recent events, violations of campaign 
finance laws may not be uncovered until years after the fact. Extending 
the statute of limitations provides investigators and prosecutors the 
ability to go after those who the break the law. This is an important 
addition to H.R. 1, the For the People Act.
  However, there is one provision in the bill that I believe could be 
improved, and I look forward to working with Chairwoman Lofgren to make 
improvements. I was just recently made aware of concerns about voting 
machines that will need to be updated or redesigned after enactment of 
H.R. 1, including some equipment like Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) 
voting machines. I would like to make sure that we don't exclude 
machines that are currently approved by the Election Assistance 
Commission without providing reasonable time and assistance to bring 
these machines into compliance with the new, higher standards of H.R. 
1. In my home state of Indiana, many counties rely on DRE machines, and 
transitioning to the higher standards will require time and resources 
that I hope we can provide. Also, I have learned that the disability 
community has concerns about these provisions, so I would like to 
include in the Record a statement describing their concerns. I am 
committed to working with my colleagues to address these concerns so we 
can make voting more accessible for everyone.

 Disability Community Fears Paper Ballot Mandate Will Hurt Voters With 
                              Disabilities

                            [Jan. 29, 2021]

       Washington, DC.--Today, the undersigned disability 
     organizations issued the following joint statement expressing 
     concerns over a paper ballot mandate.
       How ballots are cast in the United States varies depending 
     on what different jurisdictions offer to their voters. Today, 
     most voters in the U.S. cast their ballot by marking a paper 
     ballot by hand or by Ballot-Marking Device (BMD), with some 
     use of Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines.
       Most American voters are familiar with the former, which 
     requires voters to mark, verify and cast a paper-based 
     ballot. BMDs use an electronic interface to aid voters in 
     marking their ballot. Once the voter has made selections with 
     the BMD, the device directly marks on or prints the ballot. 
     The voter then typically verifies and casts the ballot into 
     the same optical (or digital) voting scanner that hand marked 
     paper ballots are cast. BMDs simply increase the 
     accessibility of paper ballots by allowing voters with 
     disabilities to use these accessible voting machines to 
     magnify, `voice,' and mark their ballots. For example, a 
     blind voter cannot privately and independently mark a paper 
     ballot with a pen, however, they can privately and 
     independently mark their ballot using a BMD.
       DRE voting systems, on the other hand, allow voters to use 
     an electronic interface to mark, verify and cast their votes 
     electronically with or without a paper back up. Arguably, 
     DREs provide the best option for voting privately and 
     independently for all voters with all types of access needs 
     based on age, disability, language fluency, literacy, and 
     many other individual circumstances, as guaranteed to all 
     voters by the Help America Vote Act and Americans with 
     Disabilities Act. DREs eliminate the need to handle or 
     directly verify a paper ballot, which prevents BMD voting 
     systems from being fully accessible to all eligible voters.
       Despite overall reduced paper consumption in many areas of 
     daily life, as a result of technological advancement, paper-
     based ballot voting options have become the preferred voting 
     system to many who believe mandating the use of paper ballots 
     is necessary to ensure the security of our elections. 
     However, it must be made abundantly clear, that the ability 
     to privately and independently hand mark, verify, and cast a 
     paper ballot is simply not, and will never be, an option for 
     all voters.
       Given that paper ballots are already the predominant method 
     of casting a ballot in America today, mandating paper ballots 
     is frankly unnecessary. Additionally, any mandate of a paper-
     based voting system will inevitably harm voters with 
     disabilities. A paper ballot mandate would: 1.) end all 
     voting system innovation and advancement to produce a fully 
     accessible voting system that provides enhanced security 
     without relying on inaccessible paper; 2.) limit voters with 
     disabilities' federal right to privately and independently 
     verify and cast their ballots and; 3.) ultimately segregate 
     voters with disabilities.
       Further, any paper ballot mandate that entitles voters to a 
     hand marked ballot threatens the availability of BMDs for 
     voters who rely on them to mark their ballots and drastically 
     limits use of BMDs to voters with disabilities. This would 
     result in segregating voters with disabilities away from the 
     entire pool of voters by making them the only group of people 
     that use a particular type of voting machine. Federally 
     mandated segregation is problematic alone, but in practice, 
     it also increases the likelihood that poll workers will not 
     be properly trained on the machine, the machines will not be 
     properly maintained or set up for use, and if the only 
     available BMD is not functioning, there is no alternative 
     option for voters who need it. Limits on BMD use will also 
     saddle poll workers with determining who is ``disabled 
     enough'' to use the BMD, a decision for

[[Page E205]]

     which they have no qualifications or legal right. Finally, if 
     the ballot produced by the BMD is not identical to the hand 
     marked ballot or the BMD ballot cannot be scanned and stored 
     with hand marked ballots, the voters right to cast a private 
     ballot is violated.
       To be clear, no paper ballot voting system today, ready for 
     widespread use, is fully accessible. Even BMDs require voters 
     with disabilities to verify and a cast a paper-based ballot, 
     which does not ensure a private and independent vote. A fully 
     accessible voting system by Federal law must ensure the voter 
     can receive, mark, verify, and cast the ballot without having 
     to handle paper. Most, if not all, market-ready voting 
     systems cannot do this.
       Before paper-based voting systems become the law of the 
     land, the harm to voters with disabilities must be addressed.
           Signed,
       American Association of People with Disabilities, American 
     Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, 
     American Network of Community Options & Resources, 
     Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, Association 
     of Programs for Rural Independent Living, Association of 
     University Centers on Disabilities, Autistic Self Advocacy 
     Network, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Disability 
     Rights Education and Defense Fund, National Association of 
     Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Council on 
     Independent Living, National Disability Rights Network, 
     National Federation of the Blind, Paralyzed Veterans of 
     America, RespectAbility, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, 
     The Arc of the United States, United Cerebral Palsy, United 
     Spinal Association.

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