In a recent Washington Post article "Campaign Strengthens for a Voting Paper Trail" Zachary Goldfarb reports that legislation banning paperless electronic voting is inevitable in the new Congress. He quotes Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Rush Holt making the argument that, in the speaker's words, the new leadership is "committed to election-reform legislation that requires all voting machines produce a paper trail".

Goldfarb also notes that Florida and Virginia are moving toward optical scan voting systems and discusses the situation arising from the unexplained undervotes in Sarasota County, Florida last November. Then he quotes Dan Tokaji as an voice of opposition:

"It could well create more problems in terms of both creating post-election litigation and creating administrative problems in counting these paper strips," Tokaji said. "We know they can be compromised, torn, crumpled," and have printing problems, he said.

This article was posted on Avi Rubin's blog and is reposted here with permission of the author.

Earlier this month, US Congressman Rush Holt (D, NJ) introduced H.R. 811, a bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified paper ballot. I have read the bill, as well as some of the criticism by various activists.

In my opinion, passage of the Holt bill would be the single most positive development in this country this decade to ensure the security, integrity and verifiability of elections. As a federal law, this legislation would establish a baseline for all states that would exceed the security and audit of elections in most states today.

The bill is well thought out. It addresses the issues of audit, security, privacy, recounts, conflicts of interest, testing, certification, and cost. I was personally privy to discussions on these issues as the text for the bill was being drafted, and I believe that the reason that this bill handles all of these difficult issues so well is that the Holt staffers took their time, acted deliberately, and consulted with the top experts, until they got it right.

The United States is one of the eleven nations in the world that doesn't provide an explicit right to vote in its Constitution.

On February 13, 2007, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL, pictured at right) reintroduced a resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution establishing the right to vote for all American citizens (H.J. Res. 28). The following article is posted on the Congressman's website.

Most Americans believe that the "legal right to vote" in our democracy is explicit (not just implicit) in our Constitution and laws. However, our Constitution only provides explicitly for non-discrimination in voting on the basis of race, sex, and age in the 15th, 19th and 26th Amendments respectively.

Even though the "vote of the people" is perceived as supreme in our democracy - because voting rights are protective of all other rights - Justice Scalia in Bush v. Gore constantly reminded Al Gore's lawyers that there is no explicit or fundamental right to suffrage in the Constitution. The Supreme Court majority concluded: "the individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States." (Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98, 104 (2000))

Voting in the United States is based on the constitutional principle of states' rights. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the State, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Since the word "vote" appears in the Constitution only with respect to non-discrimination, the so-called right to vote is a "state right." Only a constitutional amendment would give every American an individual affirmative citizenship right to vote.

For the first time in the 60-year history of the Committee on House Administration (CHA), a woman sounded the gavel that opened the first meeting today. Chairwoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, (D-CA) called the meeting to order acknowledging the Committee Staff who presented her with her new gavel. “My staff has included a card that reads, ‘With a grand and graceful gesture, the Chairwoman lowered the gavel calling the meeting to order.’ I appreciate this very kind gesture. Thank you so much,” she said. 

The Chairwoman then yielded the floor to the former Chairman, Vernon Ehlers, who noted the historic nature of the meeting, and commented on the strides the committee had made under his leadership. He also pledged cooperation with the current Chair.  After his remarks, the Chairwoman appointed Representative Bob Brady to serve as Vice Chair. 

The Committee consists of six Democrats and three Republicans. The Chairwoman introduced the Democratic Members: Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA), Congressman Charles Gonzalez (TX); and Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA). She also acknowledged in their absence Congressman Robert Brady (PA) and Congressman Michael Capuano (MA). The Republican Members are: Congressman Vernon Ehlers (MI) who served as Ranking Member, Congressman Daniel Lungren (CA), and Congressman Kevin McCarthy (CA). She opened the discussion by offering the Ranking Member an opportunity to speak. 

"This issue is a matter of fairness," said Davis, a former President of the League of Women Voters in San Diego. "Why should voters in one state be denied a privilege that voters in other states have when voting in federal elections? While I personally enjoy the ritual of going to the polls to vote, I know that getting to the polls on Election Day is often difficult. And for some, it is impossible. For many Americans, every day is a juggling act. A commitment to a job or family should not hinder someone from participating in one of the most hallowed acts of a democracy - voting."

In her media release, Davis cites studies, which indicate that adding the option to vote by mail increases voter participation without creating a partisan advantage for one political party over the other.