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 President's Message (Pearl Johnson)Honolulu League's Annual Membership Meeting Program and ActionVoter Service Report (Arlene Ellis)Nominating Committee Report In Memory of Dee Lum Proposed Budget for Year Ending 2003-2004 Development Plan Goes to City Council (Charles Carole)Welcome New MembersNational LWV Makes Clear Our Position on Paper Trails Resoultion Urging Repeal of the Legislature's Chair Veto Rule |
NATIONAL LWV MAKES CLEAR OUR POSITION ON PAPER TRAILSThe National League Board reviewed our stance on voter-verified paper trails for Direct Recording Electronic voting machines at their recent meeting. A summary of the motion which board members passed at that meeting follows: The League does not support a voter-verified paper trail system for Direct Recording Electronic voting machines that provides an individual paper confirmation for each ballot for each voter to verify. This would limit access for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, does not meet federal certification standards, and creates additional problems for election administration. The League strongly supports voter verification of ballots, including the requirement that every voting machine must provide for "second chance" voting whereby the voter verifies the ballot before it is cast. However, the League believes that a requirement for a paper-based voter verification system for each ballot undermines disability and language access, raises costs, does not guarantee security, unnecessarily complicates the voting process, and slows the replacement of outdated voting machines. The law already requires that new voting machines provide paper records that can be used for recounts and authentication of elections. The League supports additional operational and management safeguards to improve voting machine security and voter confidence. Finally, the League strongly believes that only certified voting systems, meeting federal standards, should be used in elections." For the past 25 years, LWVUS has been consistent in its application of our voting rights position. The League used the voting rights position to lobby in support of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in 1970, 1975, 1982, and 1992; to gain passage of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act or "Motor Voter" Law; and to fight for strong federal standards to protect the right to vote and to have that vote counted as part of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Application of the LWV voting rights position has also allowed Leagues to work on felony re-enfranchisement legislation in their states. |
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