The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005

On February 2, 2005, Rep. Rush Holt reintroduced the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (HR 550), a bill designed to restore confidence in the outcomes of elections and in our electoral process generally. The measure would require all voting machines to produce an actual paper record that voters can inspect to check the accuracy of their votes and that election officials can use to verify votes in the event of a computer malfunction, hacking, or other irregularity. Experts often refer to this paper record as a "voter-verified paper ballot."

"Anything of value should be auditable," said Holt. "Votes are valuable, and each voter should have the knowledge—and the confidence—that his or her vote was recorded and counted as intended. Passage of this bill will be a big step in restoring that confidence, which is the very foundation of our democratic republic."

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was an important piece of legislation that took many important steps towards electoral reform. However, in helping states replace notoriously problematic and antiquated machines, HAVA created a headlong rush to purchase computer voting systems that suffer different flaws.

Unfortunately, because computer voting machines are not currently required to produce a voter-verified paper record, any errors and irregularities they cause are difficult or even impossible to discover. A growing host of nationally and internationally-renowned computer scientists consider a voter-verified paper record to be a critical safeguard for the accuracy, integrity and security of computer-assisted elections.

H.R. 550 seeks to mandate the voter-verified paper record by amending HAVA immediately. If passed, funds expended under HAVA will be utilized in a manner that ensures that this minimum standard of protection will be built into computer voting systems now, without the necessity of replacing or upgrading such voting systems later. Key provisions of the bill include:

• Strengthening the HAVA current audit trail requirement – "a permanent paper record" – by requiring that the voters have the opportunity to verify the accuracy of that recorded vote.
• Requiring that all voting systems produce a voter-verified paper record for use in manual audits, commencing in 2006 in accordance with HAVA's original deadline. (Funding of $150 million is authorized to help states meet the cost of implementing this requirement.)
• Preserving HAVA's existing access requirements for voters with disabilities; clarifying and enhancing the security requirements demanded of systems to be used by voters with disabilities; and adding the requirement that an accessible voter-verification mechanism be provided.
• Banning the use of undisclosed software and all wireless and concealed communications devices in voting systems, and prohibiting the connection of any voting machine component to the Internet.
• Requiring random, unannounced, hand-count audits of the voter-verified paper records in 2% of all precincts, including at least 1 precinct per county. Such funds as may be necessary are authorized to fund the expense of the audits.
• Require manufacturers and election officials to document the chain of custody with respect to the handling of software; prohibit the use of software or software modifications that have not been certified or re-certified; and prohibit political and financial conflicts of interest among manufactures, test laboratories, and political parties.

Expands on HR 2239 (the version of the bill in the 108th Congress) by establishing procedures to be followed if there is a discrepancy between reported results and audit results, and preserving the rights of individuals and the Attorney General's authority to pursue legal resolution of the discrepancies.

H.R. 550:

• Text of H.R. 550
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Myths about the electoral process

More Information on Computerized Voting

• Vote Trust USA
• VerifiedVoting.org
• Voters Unite
• Election Data Services
• California Voter Foundation
• list of State/local advoacy groups working on paper trail issue
• National Association of Secretaries of State election Info page
• Electionline.org