Ever since she was first elected to the State Legislature in 1992, Debra Bowen has been a pioneer in government reform, consumer protection and privacy rights, environmental conservation, and open government.
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Home  Latest News What's old may be new again; are paper ballots in California's future?
| What's old may be new again; are paper ballots in California's future? |
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| California Chronicle |
| Sep 27, 2006 |
BOWEN APPLAUDS BOXER-DODD EFFORT TO REIMBURSE COUNTIES WILLING TO LET VOTERS SKEPTICAL ABOUT ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES A CHANCE TO USE AN OLD FASHIONED PAPER BALLOT.
SACRAMENTO – “This has the potential to take the Help America Vote Act full-circle by giving voters who don’t like or don’t trust electronic voting machines the option of using a paper ballot when they go to the polls in six weeks.”
That’s the reaction of Senator Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach), the chairwoman of the California State Senate Elections, Reapportionment & Constitutional Amendments Committee yesterday to a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate called “The Confidence in Voting Act of 2006.” Under the measure, introduced late this afternoon by U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut):
- Counties that rely on electronic voting machines will be reimbursed out of federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds up to 75 cents per ballot if they choose to give voters the option of casting their vote on a paper ballot; and,
- Counties that want to apply for this funding will have to post a notice at each polling place to let voters know they can request a paper ballot.
“If this becomes law, I expect to see every single county that’s eligible for this money lined up at the door, asking for a check so they can provide this paper ballot option to their voters,” said Bowen. “Remember, it’s the ‘Help America Vote Act,’ not the ‘Help Diebold Profit Act,’ and it’s why this low-tech option makes so much sense, especially in light of all of the problems electronic voting machines have had in primary elections this year, not just in California, but also in Texas, Illinois, and most recently Maryland.”
“HAVA provided counties with the money and the incentive to saddle their voters with expensive electronic voting machines that fewer and fewer people have confidence in to accurately tally their votes,” continued Bowen. “It’s about time Congress provides counties with the incentive to allow their voters to cast a paper ballot at the polls on Election Day, a step that will help begin to restore voter confidence in the elections process and the results.”
On July 31st, 2006, the Senate Select Committee on the Integrity of Elections chaired by Senator Bowen held a hearing in Kern County, where elections officials testified that as many as 500 voters were prevented from casting ballots in the June primary election due to electronic voting machine problems and instructions from the Registrar of Voters that the back-up paper ballots were not to be used.
“Kern County is the reason why I wish counties were required to provide this option to voters,” continued Bowen. “However, if the Boxer-Dodd bill does become law, I look forward to seeing California’s registrars of voters take the lead in providing their voters with the paper ballot option since it won’t cost them a dime to do it.”
The Senate may consider the measure sometime in the next four days.
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