2009 Issues on Capitol Hill
Warren Stewart, Verified Voting Legislative Policy Director
Having a presence on Capitol Hill this year has allowed Verified Voting to be more fully involved in hearings and conferences that complement our traditional areas of concern. In particular the interest in using internet technology in the administration of elections has highlighted the importance of cyber security policy in Verified Voting’s activities. In addition to hearings in various committees concerned with protecting the nation from cyber threats, Verified Voting attended the Cyber Security and National Defense Conference hosted by the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement in May.
Congress has failed to address Verified Voting’s top priorities of accurate and verifiable voting technology, routine mandatory audits and increased transparency in the administration of elections. Rep. Rush Holt introduced a new version of his Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, calling for voter marked paper ballots, post election audits and a numerous important election security safeguards and Senator Bill Nelson has introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Verified Voting strongly support these bills, but thus far they have not seen committee action in either chamber.
The MOVE Act, sponsored by Senators Schumer, Ben Nelson and Saxby Chambliss was reported out of the Senate Rules Committee in June and included as an amendment in the Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2010. The amendment provides assistance for overseas and military voters and adopts many of the measures recommended by The Pew Report, Overseas Voting Foundation, and others. While Verified Voting supports the overall intent of the legislation, we have concerns about the mandate for pilot projects to assist overseas and military voters that include the use of internet technology. While the language does not specifically call for pilot projects involving the electronic transmission of voted ballots, internet voting vendors and others promoting internet voting projects have seized on the MOVE Act in their lobbying efforts at the state level. Verified Voting advocated the establishment of a more rigorous security review of any pilot projects involving electronic submission of voted ballots. While the bill contains language that tasks the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology with publishing best practices for the use of the internet in the administration of lections, we continue to work for a stronger directive from Congress in future legislation.
In June, the House passed the Absentee Ballot Track, Receive and Confirm (TRAC) Act (H.R. 2510), introduced by Rep. Susan Davis of California. While the TRAC Act does not mandate any state to set up a tracking system, it allows the federal government to reimburse states, through a grants program, for establishing tracking systems. The Senate has not taken action on this bill. Another bill introduced by Rep. Davis, that would eliminate restrictions on absentee ballot access in Federal elections was reported out of committee but has not yet reached the floor of the House for a vote.
Improving the voter registration process has been a primary focus of activity in both the Senate Rules Committee and the Committee on House Administration. Rep. Lofgren has introduced Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2009 (HR 1719) that would allow any eligible citizen to register to vote over the Internet for all federal elections occurring after January 1, 2014. States would be required to have online registration available on the official public website of the appropriate election officials. Senator Schumer held hearings on voter registration in the spring and Verified Voting has been involved along with the Brennan Center and others in advocating for sound security provisions in proposed legislation, which has yet to be introduced.
The Election Assistance Commission has operated with only three Commissioners since the resignation of Rosemary Rodriguez in February. There are also several empty seats on the EAC’s Advisory Board and the position of General Counsel has remained open for over a year. Verified Voting has advocated for candidates with computer expertise and a commitment to transparent and verifiable elections for all these positions.
