Uniform Standards and Real Accountability

Congress should set uniform standards for ballot design, poll worker training, polling place plans and absentee ballots. We need ongoing federal funding of elections and rigorous evaluation of what works and what should improve.

Public Interest Voting Machines

We should use our nation�s technical expertise to create voting equipment that supports the needs of people with disabilities and language minorities, that has open-source software and a voter-verified paper audit trail and that can be adapted for all localities' election methods.

Universal Voter Registration

We need clean and complete voter rolls, which is the international norm. Every citizen turning 18 and every person becoming a citizen should be automatically registered.

Universal Ballot Design Standards

We need higher standards and more public input, consistency and accountability in ballot design to avoid mistakes like the butterfly ballot. Voter education would be easier with a national ballot access law for presidential candidates.

Early Voting / Election Day as a Holiday

Making Election Day a holiday and holding early voting on the weekend would increase the pool of poll workers and increase voter convenience. It would reduce the absurdly long lines seen in 2004.

Nonpartisan Election Administration

To guarantee the integrity of the voting process, partisan officials should not make decisions about administration. Nonpartisan observers should have full access to the electoral process.

Fair Provisional Ballot and Voter ID Laws

As evidenced in the elections of 2004, the lack of fair and consistent federal requirements in these politically charged areas leads to confusion, inequity and lost votes.

A Constitutional Right to Vote

To affirm a citizenship right to vote, provide for universal fair voting standards for all elections and protect against voter suppression, we support H.J. Res 28 to add a right to vote to the U.S. Constitution.