Currently, H.R. 550 has 159 co-sponsors in the House, 9 of whom are Republican, and has been strongly endorsed by the bipartisan Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform, but it has been sitting in the House Administration Committee since it was introduced in February. The Committee is chaired by Bob Ney, who is currently facing a major ethics scandal for his ties to lobbyist Jack Abramoff and evidently has no interest in fair elections, either.

"Anything of value should be auditable. Votes are valuable, and each voter should have the knowledge-and the confidence-that his or her vote was recorded and counted as intended. Passage of this bill (H.R. 550) will be a big step in restoring that confidence, which is the very foundation of our democratic republic."   - Rush Holt on The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005

Voter Confidence Petition
in Support of H.R. 550

Dear Members of the House Administration Committee:

On February 2, 2005, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 550) was reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives. Its goal is simple: to set a national standard of security and independent auditability for our electoral process, and restore confidence in the outcomes of elections. H.R. 550 would require all voting systems to produce an actual paper record that voters themselves can inspect in the voting booth to check the accuracy of their votes, and that election officials can use to verify the accuracy of the vote count. Commonly referred to as a "voter-verified paper record," it is the most effective way to ensure an independent audit and provide voter-verified evidence as to the accuracy (or not) of election results.

The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 550) will:

• Mandate a voter-verified paper ballot for every vote cast in every federal election, nationwide; because the voter verified paper record is the only one verified by the voters themselves, rather than by the machines, it will serve as the vote of record in any case of inconsistency with electronic records;


• Protect the accessibility requirements of the Help America Vote Act for voters with disabilities; Require random, unannounced, hand-count audits of actual election results in every state, and in each county, for every Federal election;


• Prohibit the use of undisclosed software and wireless and concealed communications devices and internet connections in voting machines;


• Provide Federal funding to pay for implementation of voter-verified paper balloting; and


• Require full implementation by 2006