The right to vote is the most basic of all political rights. The recent Presidential election of 2000 has brought to the forefront of the public's attention the many inconsistencies that presently exist in the voting systems throughout the nation at all levels of government. These inconsistencies threaten the integrity of the election process. While all of the problems and inconsistencies revealed in the recent elections cannot be addressed within the scope of today's hearing on technology solutions, many can be ameliorated. However, it is important that fair, bipartisan policy solutions in related areas be devised to accompany any technological innovations.
Technological innovations are likely to be costly for most jurisdictions.
AARP believes the federal government has a role to play in financing needed innovations. AARP would like to lay out the principal policy areas that we see as needing reform, and proceed to address how technology might address some of those. While these statutes do not address questions of technology, technological innovations could have a tremendous impact on the fairness of how those statutory policies are implemented or enforced. Critical issues such as access to and the climate of both registration and polling sites are precursory concerns that are directly related to the utility of any voting technology innovation. The recent election brought to light the fact that voting mechanisms lack uniform standards and in many locations have failed to keep pace with new technologies.