[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15550]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  SUPPORTING H.R. 811, VOTE CONFIDENCE AND INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE SESTAK

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2007

  Mr. SESTAK. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 811, the 
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act. This is an excellent, 
and much needed piece of legislation.
  The right to vote is no doubt one of the cornerstones of our 
democracy, if not its greatest measurement. Through casting a vote, the 
voice of the people is made manifest in one simple, single act. 
President Johnson thought so highly of voting that he was quoted as 
saying it was ``the most powerful instrument ever devised by man.'' 
Consequently, every effort must be utilized to ensure this process is 
as efficient and as fail proof as it possibly can be.
  The 2000 elections undermined the confidence of voters as the saga of 
counting ballots and tallying votes lingered for months. As a result, 
the call for election reform implemented the Help America Vote Act 
(HAVA), which provided funding for election administration and 
electronic voting machines. This act was a giant step in the right 
direction of assuring voter security, and voter confidence.
  However, the elections of 2004 exposed once again a call for further 
action. An estimated 50 million voters cast their ballots on the 
electronic voter machines that lacked a voter-verified paper audit 
trail. This leaves no mechanism to verify or resolve reported voter 
tallies. Simply put, this is unacceptable.
  Madam Speaker--H.R. 811 takes aim at resolving this very problem. It 
mandates an independent audit mechanism, which means that every voter 
will verify on a permanent paper ballot his or her vote. And in order 
to ensure this is carried out in the right manner, this bill provides 
necessary funding and oversight.
  With another Presidential election on the horizon, it is vitally 
important that we restore the confidence of voters across this nation. 
Every citizen must be heard, and thus their every vote must be 
recorded. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and ensure that the 
voice of Americans is never again placed in doubt.

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