CLEAN AND FAIR ELECTIONS

WHEREAS, a strong democracy depends on elections that include as many citizen voices as possible; and

WHEREAS, voting is a right, not a privilege:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers oppose laws that discourage voter registration; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT deplore practices that purge eligible voters from voter rolls, such as the 2000 Florida felon list; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support the congressional passage of the federal Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005 (HR 550) and the Voter Integrity and Verification Act of 2005 (SB 330); and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support only voter identification requirements that do not require providing a photo identification at the time of voting; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge the federal government to follow Wisconsin’s lead in enacting laws to ensure that every vote cast is auditable with a verifiable paper trail; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support laws that ensure every election official conducts responsibilities openly and objectively under strict conflict-of-interest laws; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge federal and state governments to vigorously enforce every law to prevent voter intimidation and election fraud; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge the U.S. government and states to reinforce the existing Help America Vote Act to give every voter equal access to polling locations, adequate numbers of voting machines, and well-trained poll workers and election judges; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support laws to ensure that every voting machine be secured during all aspects of voting to protect the integrity of the count; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support increased funding of elections to accomplish these goals and to protect every eligible voter’s right to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted.