Help America Vote Act of 2002

The embarrassing debacle of the 2000 presidential election, in which perhaps millions of Americans were denied the right to vote or had their ballots not counted, prompted Congress to pass the Help America Vote Act of 2002, signed into law by President Bush on October 29, 2002. The election reform law is a compromise product of two earlier bills, the Dodd-McConnell-Bond bill (S. 565) in the Senate and the Ney-Hoyer bill (H.R. 3295) in the House.

Fair and open elections in the United States have been obstructed by antiquated voting machines that fail to accurately record voters' choices, ballots that confuse rather than clarify, overcrowded polling places, polling places that are inaccessible to the disabled and to the blind and to language minorities, inaccurate voter registration lists, and so-called ballot security measures which have the effect, if not the intent, of intimidating and discouraging voters.

In many ways, the new law marks a significant step forward in improving the conduct of elections in the United States. At the same time, however, the compromise sacrificed some additional steps that should have been taken to ensure that every vote counts and contains some of the ballot security measures that are not useful to the democratic process.

The Help America Vote Act creates for the first time national standards for the administration of all federal, state and local elections. More than $3.8 billion over the next three years have been earmarked by the Act for improvements in voting technology and the election process. These funds will be allocated for the following purposes:

Voting Equipment and Technology

• About $700 million of these funds are earmarked for buying out antiquated punch-card and lever voting machines and to improve election administration.
• Each state is guaranteed to receive at least $5 million of the funds designated for updating voting machines. States with the most archaic systems, of course, will receive more funds as needed.
• $100 million is designated for making polling places more accessible to the handicapped. Every polling place is required to have at least one voting machine accessible to the handicapped.
• A pilot study program is established to explore the possibility of voting through touch-screens, the Internet and other technologies.

The Voting Process

• Each state is required to develop and constantly update computerized voter registration rolls to help ensure accuracy. This centralized database will make it easier for you to stay registered even after moving to a different home in the same state.
• Poll workers will be better trained.
• If, because of some oversight by state or local elections administration, your name is not on the voter registration rolls when you check in at the polls, you now have the right to cast a "provisional ballot," which will be counted when elections officials deem that you indeed should have been on the registration rolls.
• Required each state to develop and constantly update computerized voter registration rolls to help ensure accuracy. This centralized database will make it easier for you to stay registered even after moving to a different home in the same state.
• If you make a mistake on your ballot, you will have the right to correct it.

Ballot Security Measures

Provisions in the law addressing voter fraud are among the Act’s most controversial elements. The "ballot security" requirements affect you in the following ways:

• When registering to vote, you must provide a valid driver’s license or, if you do not have a license, the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you do not have either forms of ID, you can request that a registration number be assigned to you by elections officials. Many states currently rely on an honor system or require minimal evidence that you live in the neighborhood in order to register and vote, such as showing a utility bill with your name on it. This law places additional proof-of-residence requirements on potential voters and has been sharply criticized by civil rights advocates for treading upon privacy rights and for imposing ID burdens that are likely to affect certain classes of citizens more than others.
• First time voters who register by mail will be required to show identification at the polls. No longer can you simply sign-in at the polls.
• The computerized voter registration rolls may impose additional complications for you as a voter. If your name has changed by some circumstance, or if you have an unusual name that is entered incorrectly into the database, your right to vote may be impinged. This may be particularly problematic for divorced women who change their last names as well as ethnic minorities with non-Anglo last names.

Source:  http://www.citizen.org/congress/govt_reform/election/articles.cfm?ID=8510