Hearing of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee - Election Administration: Innovation, Administrative Improvements and Cost Savings

Hearing

Thank you, Chairman Schumer, and Ranking Member Senator Roberts for inviting me to testify here today.

I also thank Senator Warner, for his leadership and advocacy for the legislation I am here to discuss -- the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely -- (FAST) -- Voting Act.

The FAST Voting Act draws on the framework of the successful Race to the Top education reform program to reward states that make substantial improvements in the administration of their elections to make voting faster and more accessible to all citizens.

The legislation incentivizes states to put forward their best efforts to improve elections. As a competitive grant program, the best proposals with the greatest impact are rewarded with the seed money to make it happen.

The critical metrics of this evaluation are clear -- Indeed, the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration (PCEA) report highlights the need for all states to improve in the following areas, which are also enumerated in the FAST Voting Act:

Online voter registration -- to enhance both accuracy of the voter rolls and efficiency;

Early Voting -- either by mail or in-person voting so that all people who work can also vote;

Improving the ability of military and overseas voters to access ballots and other voting materials;

Electronic pollbooks -- for greater accuracy and efficiency;

Enhancing training of poll workers; and

Addressing the needs of voters with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency.

Under this bill -- even those states that do not win will have taken the critical step of reviewing their needs and charting a course toward a better election experience for their voters.

That review will include the statutory, regulatory and any other barriers that currently exist to streamlined voting and voter registration in each state.

Through this multiplier effect, our limited federal dollars would be very well spent.

We know what needs to be done. Now it's time to get moving.

The November 2012 elections were a wake-up call.

Tens of thousands of Americans, including Republicans and Democrats in both "red states" and "blue states," saw their fundamental right to vote for the candidate of their choice eroded by exceptionally long lines and confusing procedures in well over a dozen states.

We saw errors on voter rolls in Ohio and delays in counting ballots in Arizona.

We saw voters waiting in line five hours in Virginia and eight hours in Florida.

In Colorado, voters said they checked the box on the touchscreen panel to vote for Mitt Romney, but that the machine kept switching their pick to President Obama, while in Pennsylvania, voters reported the same problem in reverse -- that their selection of President Obama was registered as a vote for Governor Romney.

This is unacceptable. Voting is the ultimate civil right in our free society, and we should treat it accordingly.

When a polling station runs out of ballots, our friends and our neighbors are disenfranchised.

Likewise, when the lines at a polling station are too long, our fellow citizens are forced to choose between losing their job and forfeiting their right to vote.

It does not have to be this way. We can pass the FAST Voting Act to accelerate the adoption of efficient and effective practices for administering elections.

While many states are struggling, there are also good examples for others to follow.
In my home state of Delaware, we have an exceptional State Election Commissioner, Elaine Manlove, who has helped lead the way through her tireless efforts to improve the voting experience in Delaware.

An instructive example is her leadership on e-Signature, or electronic signature. eSignature is a voter registration method that can be implemented at registration sites -- including Departments of Motor Vehicles -- to streamline the process through which many Americans register to vote.

In the old system, the need for a signature was accomplished on a paper application, which would then be collected from DMV locations, transferred to the Election Commission, reviewed, entered by another person, and then archived.

Now, with an electronic signature available on the same interface as DMV transactions, the data is transmitted directly and error-free to the voter rolls.

Like most upgrades, the technology involves an up-front investment, with significant savings over time through eliminating the use of paper, and also reduced errors in transmission, which ultimately keeps lines shorter on Election Day.

Because of Elaine's leadership, Delaware voters will experience fewer errors, less wait time, and lower costs.

We owe it to our fellow citizens to help spread the technology, the policies, and the lessons learned in states like Delaware to make elections run better everywhere.

In closing, I'd like to add that we should be able to come together to do this. The ability to cast a vote in a reasonably accessible manner is a bipartisan issue.

The President has addressed this issue in a bipartisan fashion through the Presidential Commission on Election Administration.

Their report is full of common sense, non-partisan ideas -- including Delaware's eSignature program -- that will help Americans cast their votes with the efficiency they expect in the modern world.

Our Democracy is the oldest in the world, and currently it is showing its age.

We cannot stand idly by as our elections become a ritual in embarrassment.

Let's continue to be a leader in the free world, and help our states conduct the elections our constituents deserve.

I look forward to working with this committee to pass the FAST Voting Act.

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