[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.