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[ letterhead of the LWV-US ]
President: Mary G. Wilson; Albuquerque, New Mexico Vice Presidents; Marlys Robertson; Boulder, Colorado Sarah Diefendorf; San Francisco, California Secretary-Treasurer; Elaine Wiant; Dallas, Texas Directors: Judith Davis; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Judy Duffy; Birchwood, Minnesota Xandra Kayden; Los Angeles, California Donna Lauffer; Overland Park, Kansas Odetta MacLeish-White; Gainesville, Florida Elisabeth MacNamara; Atlanta, Georgia Carolie Mullan&; Lubbock, Texas Carol Reimers; New York, New York Executive Director; Nancy E. Tate |
March 28, 2007
The Honorable Juanita Millender-McDonald Chair, Committee on House Administration 1309 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515-6167 Dear Madame Chair, Thank you for your interest in the comments of the League of Women Voters on H.R. 811, the "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007," also known as the Holt Bill. These are preliminary in nature and the League will welcome the opportunity to give further detailed comments on this important legislation as it is considered through the legislative process. In general, the LWV finds the provisions within the bill that call for voter-verified paper ballot systems consistent with the LWV position. We do suggest that careful consideration be given to the interaction of federal and state law under the bill and how each element will operate in practice. With respect to the portion of the legislation that establishes a requirement for a mandatory audit, the LWVUS has never conducted a study of such details as what percentage of votes would constitute a statistically appropriate random audit or whether such audits should be conducted by a state entity that has no prior expertise in vote counting. The LWV does support routine audits in randomly selected precincts in every election, and believes that the results should be published by the jurisdiction. However, we do have questions about the complexities of the audit requirements within H.R. 811 and their ramifications with existing laws in individual states. Overall, the LWV also has concerns about implementation by 2008. Attached, please find an analysis of H.R. 811 from the LWV perspective. The LWV is supportive of the spirit of H.R. 811 but does have concerns as the bill is currently written. Thank you for the opportunity to provide our perspective. Sincerely, Mary G. Wilson President |