[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 27795-27796]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 2001

  Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, when the Voting Rights Act was signed 
into law over 30 years ago, many thought it was the end of a long 
journey to recognize that the ideals on which this country was founded 
were more than just abstract notions. The Voting Rights Act and before 
it the 14th amendment were definitive expressions by our Nation's 
government that liberty and equality in theory is only as meaningful as 
liberty and equality in practice. As my colleague from Connecticut 
noted yesterday in this Chamber, Thomas Paine captured the essence of 
our Nation's democracy when he stated that the right to vote is ``the 
primary right by which all other rights are protected.''
  The immediate consequence of the 2000 elections and its unsettling 
aftermath was a realization that even 30 years after the Voting Rights 
Act became law, the Nation's election system was not what people 
thought it was. The election brought to light many problems with the 
Nation's voting system, including the impact that outdated voting 
machines, undertrained poll workers, and poorly-designed ballots can 
have on an election.
  Throughout the past year, Congress and the Nation have evaluated how 
best to ensure that future elections are ones in which Americans can 
have faith in the results. I have spent countless hours devoted to the 
subject. A year ago last week, Senator McConnell and I introduced one 
of the first bills seeking to improve election systems and procedures. 
Others soon followed with their own ideas about how to best bring about 
change to what we had learned was a clearly flawed system.
  With so much at stake, the process has not been without disagreement 
and at times it seemed that little would be changed. Both the House of 
Representatives and the Senate, however, have finally made progress in 
crafting bipartisan legislation seeking to make elections more fair for 
all Americans. The House of Representatives has passed legislation 
supported by a majority of both parties. Yesterday, Senators Dodd, 
McConnell, Bond, Schumer and I introduced bipartisan legislation to 
modernize the Nation's election procedures.
  The Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001 represents a 
balance between establishing national standards for voting and giving 
States the flexibility to make improvements tailored to their State's 
needs. First, this bill creates a permanent Federal system of analysis 
and assistance. This legislation establishes an Election Administration 
Commission, consisting of two commissioners from each party who will 
serve 4-year terms. The commission will bring expertise to modernizing 
elections and provide States and localities with advice for their 
enhancing voting procedures. This permanent commission was the 
cornerstone of election reform legislation that Senator McConnell and I 
introduced over a year ago and I am extraordinarily pleased to see it 
included in this landmark legislation.
  Second, this legislation establishes three minimum national 
requirements for voting procedures to ensure that voting across the 
Nation is uniform and nondiscriminatory. These minimum national 
standards include requiring States and localities across the Nation to 
utilize voting systems that enable voters to verify how they voted and 
ensure accessibility to language minorities and individuals with 
disabilities, requiring States and localities to provide for 
provisional balloting, and requiring States and localities to establish 
a statewide voter registration list with the names and addresses of 
eligible voters.
  Perhaps most importantly, however, this legislation provides $3 
billion in Federal grants for States and localities to update voting 
systems, improve accessibility to polling places, and train poll 
workers, among other things. States and communities must show that they 
comply with the three national requirements to be eligible for the 
grants. An additional $400 million is authorized for providing early 
funds so that States and localities can implement some improvements 
quickly; $100

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million of the bill's funding is directed to provide grants to make 
polling places physically accessible to those with disabilities. This 
funding ensures that for the first time in our Nation's history, the 
Federal Government will contribute our share to the cost of 
administering elections for Federal office.
  I hope that this legislation completes our Nation's journey to 
ensuring that all eligible Americans are able to cast their vote 
fairly, accurately, and without interference. To some, this legislation 
may not be perfect, but I can assure my colleagues that it is the 
result of reasoned compromise and is a balanced response to all that 
our Nation has learned from the 2000 elections. I hope that when my 
colleagues and I return in January, we can work with the Senate 
leadership to ensure that bringing this legislation to the Senate floor 
is one of our top priorities.

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