2006 Election Reform Agenda

A Clarion Call For Reform--the Elections Of The 21st Century

The 2000 election debacle in Florida showed that we had to modernize voting machines and improve the management of voting rolls. The federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA), signed into law in October 2002, was a first step toward reforming the system. HAVA allocated $3.9 billion to the states, spread over three years, to pay for improvements in voting equipment and election administration.

But progress has been slow. The federal government dragged its feet in doling out dollars to the states and clarifying how states should implement the new law. The majority of states chose to put off until January 2006 the introduction of new voting technology and improved election administration. Meanwhile, poll-workers and the public alike were confused by changes in registration and voting procedures, resulting in disarray at the polls in 2004. Nevertheless, more than 120 million citizens cast ballots that year, a 60 percent turnout of eligible voters.the highest since 1968. It seems clear that, when something important is at stake, voters will brave barriers.

America needs a voting system deserving of its enduring faith in democracy. We must summon the resources and the collective will to advance a large and as-yet unfulfilled agenda aimed at encouraging every eligible American to vote. Only by taking such actions will we able to create a healthy democracy in which all citizens have real choices and a real voice in determining the nature and focus of their government and their future.