Election Reform Moves Slowly Across the States

Federal Financial Support Necessary

On November 7, 2000, over two million Americans who went to the polls were not counted in the presidential election. More than 90 percent of those disenfranchised by hanging chads and poorly-designed ballots were outside the state of Florida.

Nearly all of these disenfranchised voters intended their votes to count, but our nation’s voting systems let them down. We know this because many counties with modern voting systems successfully counted nearly every voter. In Leon County, Florida, for example, 99.8 percent of the voters were counted in the 2000 presidential race. Maryland’s Anne Arundel County did even better: 99.9 percent were counted.

Despite the public uproar following the November election, very little reform legislation was adopted in the 2001 legislative sessions.

Less than three percent of the 1,500 election-related bills introduced in 2001 were designed to ban punchcard ballots and implement modern election systems. Only three states, Florida, Georgia and Maryland, enacted legislation to institute uniform election systems with modern voting equipment.

In addition, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Washington formed special commissions to study election reform. South Dakota adopted a centralized voter registration system. And both New Mexico and Connecticut acted to restore voting rights to felons who have served their sentences.

There is one major reason why there has been no wave of action in the states: money. In fact, only Florida has made a solid commitment to pay for new voting equipment. To a large degree, states are looking for Congress to pass legislation contributing substantial funds to the cause. Whether Congress will ante up remains to be seen.

Acting CEO Jane Gruenebaum spoke recently at the Voices of the Electorate Task Force press conference on meaningful election reform.

Click here for model legislation and other resources on election reform.