    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 31 (Monday, August 6, 2001)]
    [Pages 1120-1121]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks on Receiving the Report of the National Commission on Federal
    Election Reform

    July 31, 2001

        Thank you, all. Please be seated. After the last election, two
    former Presidents and a panel of distinguished Americans--from both
    political parties, I might add--gathered to consider ways to improve
    America's election system. And they have produced an impressive report.
    Today I accept their report and recommend the key principles drawn from
    the report as guidelines for meaningful reform.
        I want to welcome President Jimmy Carter back to the Rose Garden and
    to the Oval Office. President Gerald Ford could not be with us today,
    but he is well represented by House Minority Leader Bob Michel. Thank
    you for being here, Mr. Leader.
        I want to thank Phil Zelikow for being the executive director of the
    Commission. I want to thank all the Commission members who are here, and
    I appreciate the Attorney General for being here, as well. Thanks for
    coming, John.
        Our American democracy is really an inspiration to the world. Yet,
    the work of improving it is never finished. Presidents Jimmy Carter and
    Gerald Ford--two men who took part in another close election, I might
    add, and who went on to have a close friendship--have come together to
    produce recommendations for modernizing the electoral system.
        I want to thank the University of Virginia's Miller Center and the
    Century Foundation, as well. Mr. Carter and Mr. Ford recruited a
    Commission of 20 distinguished Americans from both parties and every
    region of the country. I respect the members so much that I appointed
    one of them to become the Ambassador to Japan, Howard Baker.
        The others continued to take testimony. They held hearings in four
    States, listened to dozens of witnesses, and consulted widely with State
    and local officials. They identified some important concerns. For
    example, the overeagerness of the media to report the outcome of the
    elections. [Laughter]
        Some voting methods have much higher error rates than others. And
    citizens with disabilities or limited proficiency in English can
    encounter obstacles to the exercise of their democratic rights.
        The Commissioners brought a broad diversity of personal experience
    to bear. Seven Commissioners, in addition to President Ford and
    President Carter, have been elected to office, themselves, and have seen
    Americans' voting procedures up close and personal. Other members have
    had experience enforcing our Nation's civil rights and voting rights
    laws. Others are experts in constitutional law and the mechanics of
    government. This Commission's idealism is reinforced by deep practical
    experience.
        The Commissioners offer many recommendations to strengthen our
    electoral system. Those recommendations are grounded in four fundamental
    principles, which I heartily endorse and recommend to the Congress.
        First, our Nation must continue to respect the primary role of
    State, county, and local governments in elections. In 2000 more than 100
    million Americans cast votes in more than 190,000 polling places under
    the supervision of 1.4 million pollworkers. Our Nation is vast and
    diverse, and our elections should not be run out of Washington, DC.
        Second, the Federal Government can have a limited but responsible
    role in assisting States and localities to solve their problems

    [[Page 1121]]

    with election administration so that our voting technology and practices
    respect the value of every eligible vote.
        Third, we must actively and vigorously enforce the laws that protect
    the voting rights of ethnic and racial minorities, of citizens who do
    not speak English fluently, and of the elderly and persons with
    disabilities.
        Let me say, by the way, how pleased I am that the Commission
    occasionally cited the great State of Texas for its good work.
        Fourth and finally, we must act to uphold the voting rights of
    members of the armed services and of Americans living abroad. We must
    safeguard absentee ballots against abuse, and we must ensure that those
    Americans who risked their lives to defend American democracy are never
    prevented from participating in American democracy.
        These are some of the core principles underlying the Commission's
    report, and they are principles that should guide us all. I commend the
    Commissioners for their statesmen-like work. They have risen above
    partisan emotions, put forth practical suggestions for improving
    democracy, and the United States Congress should listen to them and
    follow their lead.
        It is now my honor to call back to the podium a man who has been
    here quite often in the past, the President of the United States, Jimmy
    Carter.

    Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to former Representative Robert H.
    Michel.