PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS

WHEREAS, the health of our democracy depends on citizens' trusting that the elections process is fair and transparent; and

WHEREAS, partisan efforts by elections officials in Florida led to erroneous purging of eligible voters and differential treatment of military absentee ballots; and

WHEREAS, such efforts in Florida most certainly violated the rights of African Americans, senior citizens and other voters; and

WHEREAS, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA)* was passed to safeguard the enfranchisement of all eligible citizens and foster fair and efficient administrative practices by providing funding to states to reform elections processes; and

WHEREAS, HAVA obliges states to insure uniform treatment across the state, develop accurate statewide voter registration lists, protect against erroneous purges and protect every eligible voter's right to cast a ballot through provisional balloting; and

WHEREAS, the League of Women Voters is working in each state to monitor the implementation of HAVA to insure that voters' rights are protected; and

WHEREAS, Congress has not yet provided sufficient funding to implement HAVA reforms:

RESOLVED, that the AFT lobby Congress to appropriate the HAVA funding levels it approved ($3.9 billion dollars) and increase HAVA funding in 2005 (an additional $2 billion); and

RESOLVED, that the AFT oppose amendments to the HAVA of 2002 that lower state or federal obligations to implement election reform in a timely manner; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT inform and encourage locals to support the work of the League of Women Voters and other good government advocates to protect voters' rights, including encouraging members to work with the League to protect voting rights; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support all appropriate proposals to require states and localities to provide a paper trail for electronic voting.

*www.Demos-USA.org (HAVA regulations)