DEFENDING YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE

Our right to vote is the cornerstone of American democracy. And in the great state of Georgia where we have such a proud history of voting and civil rights it’s even more important to have a Secretary of State that fights to defend all our voting rights. That means ensuring a fair and accurate election process that is not only sound, but smoothly run and trusted – and it means fighting voter intimidation and fraud wherever it occurs. It’s time to return public trust and confidence to the elections process and to protect our most sacred right as Americans and Georgians.

As Secretary of State, I will implement technology and policies that accomplish the following:

1. Fight to stamp out voter intimidation

2. Tougher security measures to ensure the integrity of our voting machines

3. Voter verified paper ballots and a fully-auditable paper trail

4. A pre-certification audit to make sure your vote is counted on election day

5. Shorter lines and longer early voting period

6. A Complete Online One-Stop Shop to Encourage More Georgians to vote

Stop Voter Intimidation

Every Georgian has the constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. No one should be able to take that away. But too often that’s exactly what is happening: those who have the right to vote are being turned away or threatened at the polls. That’s just not right, which is why I stand firmly against the recent misguided voter identification legislation that disenfranchises over 200,000 Georgian voters by insisting on restrictive rules at the polls.

I also fully endorse the renewal of the Federal Voting Rights Act, which I believe is critical to Georgia’s democratic process. This Act underscores the importance of democracy by protecting our right to vote. The pre-clearance process and other sections of the Act that are set to expire do not place an undue burden on the state. In fact, they provide citizens with the confidence we deserve that our voting rights are being protected.

Tougher Security Measures

The process that we use to vote must be trustworthy. Over the past few years, electronic voting machines have been deployed across the state and have now been used in the last two elections.

Some people believe they have been a success. But for many others these machines are a cause for great concern. Recently, significant security flaws have been identified. The simple fact is we’re not doing enough to ensure the integrity and security of these machines - Georgia must have a process that citizens trust.

I will make sure every single electronic voting machine is secure and tamper proof by implementing better and more extensive security measures to prevent anyone from hacking into the machines or otherwise compromising their integrity. We will make sure the access ports are inaccessible before, during and after the voting process. We will also make the certification process more open to outside observers.

Voter Verified Paper Receipts

To fully restore public confidence to the elections process, we must upgrade the electronic voting machines to provide a paper receipt clearly indicating a voter’s choices. My voting plan ensures that when you cast your vote electronically, a paper ballot is printed for you to review - once you approve your vote, the paper ballot is dropped into a ballot box and later used in the pre-certification audit process. This provides a backup to the electronic vote you cast.

Currently, Georgia’s electronic voting machines are not equipped to provide voter verified paper ballots. The Georgia legislature recently passed a law crafted by one of my opponents to test paper ballots, allowing voters to verify their electronic vote by comparing it to a printed paper receipt in three pilot precincts in Bibb, Camden and Cobb counties this November. The legislation, unfortunately, has several flaws.

1. Paper ballots would only be used in the event of an election challenge - after the election had taken place. What good is a having a paper trail if we don’t use it during the election. Finding out there was a problem after the election serves no purpose. My certification plan (see Pre-certification audit section below) calls for mandatory testing to ensure accuracy.

2. The legislation requires the state to use Diebold equipment. Given the recent problems of Diebold, we should use the pilot program as an opportunity to test equipment from another manufacturer.

3. The legislation doesn’t mandate that all paper receipts be cut and deposited into a ballot box. As it stands, it is possible under the law for the machine to have the paper trail be reflected on a continuous spool of paper. Through a diligent investigation, one could match those results with the order of voters checking in at the precinct. This violates the confidentiality requirements of voting.

My voting plan goes further to ensure the accuracy and integrity of our elections process is secure and trustworthy.

Pre-Certificate Audit

Paper ballots ensure that your vote is recorded properly – but that’s only half of the process. The second part of my voting plan ensures that your vote gets counted on election day. My pre-certification audit plan confirms the accuracy of the electronic vote totals for each precinct by requiring that a sample of the paper ballots match the electronic votes. This is done on election day - prior to the precinct certifying its vote totals - not days or months after the fact. If a discrepancy exists between the paper and the electronic votes for that precinct, then a manual recount of the paper ballots in that precinct will be conducted to produce an accurate vote total.

My Election Reform Package provides for voter verifiable paper ballots and certification procedures to ensure that our election results truly reflect the will of the people – that each and every vote is recorded and counted. It will also force the manufacturers to make sure their machines work correctly. No manufacturer will want a paper count to override an electronic count on election day.

Shorter Lines and Longer Early Voting Period

We’ve made great progress in improving our elections process. More people are voting and early voting has been successful in providing access to the ballot box. But we must continue to do more to alleviate long lines and longer waits at the polls. As Secretary of State, I will fight to decrease your wait time and make the voting process more efficient by:

1. Deploying more voting machines, especially in densely populated areas

2. Working with county and city elections officials to increase the number of polling locations available

3. Working with the legislature to expand the early-voting period

By making our elections more efficient, Georgia will experience greater voter participation and a strengthened democratic process. I will also work with the Governor, the State School Superintendent and teachers all across the state to promote good citizenship. One way to accomplish this would entail examining the government/civics curriculum and mandating the teaching of government/civics in every school across the state. Students who take a Civics or Governments course with the right curriculum are up to 10 times more likely to vote and continue voting when they turn 18.

Complete On-Line One-Stop Shop for Relevant Voter Information

As Secretary of State, I will deploy a secure web-based interactive tool that lets voters register to vote online in a secure manner. This will make the voter registration process more efficient and effective. The process will be secure and require voter authentication in the same manner that is currently required. Modernization of the elections process is crucial to Georgia continuing to be on the forefront of election reform.

As part of this secure and trusted web-based interactive tool, voters will be able to access information about all candidates for State House, State Senate and Statewide Office. Voters will be able to type in a candidate’s name and easily access the candidate’s biography, campaign disclosure reports, platform, website and other useful information about the candidate. If the candidate has sponsored any legislation, then a list of this legislation along with links to the laws and legislation will be available. This tool will allow all Georgians to conduct research on candidates in an efficient and user-friendly manner in order to facilitate open, accurate, and informative elections.