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WHEREAS, the Help America Vote Act, 42 U.S.C. §15301 et. seq., made federal funding available to jurisdictions that conduct mandatory modernizations their lever operated voting systems through the purchase of new electronic voting systems; and
WHEREAS, under the terms of the Help America Vote Act, Allegheny County was required to replace all lever voting systems in qualifying precincts within the County in time for the first election for federal office held after January 1, 2006 in order to qualify for this funding; and
WHEREAS, while the Help America Vote Act does require that new voting systems purchased with the available federal funding generate a paper record that can be used to audit election results, it does not specifically require that a paper summary of individual voting decisions be made available to every voter before they confirm their selections; and
WHEREAS, the Commission on Federal Election Reform has issued the following recommendation regarding voting machines: "Congress should pass a law requiring that all voting machines be equipped with a voter verifiable paper audit trail and, consistent with HAVA, be fully accessible to voters with disabilities. This is especially important for direct recording electronic (DRE) machines for four reasons: (a) to increase citizens' confidence that their vote will be counted accurately, (b) to allow for a recount, (c) to provide a backup in cases of loss of votes due to computer malfunction, and (d) to test - through a random selection of machines - whether the paper result is the same as the electronic result."; and
WHEREAS, the Commission on Federal Election Reform advocates retrofitting VVPB capabilities into voting machines that do not currently produce such paper ballots; and
WHEREAS, the Report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform, issued in September of 2005, notes that as of August 2005, 25 states had already mandated VVPBs for each voter before they confirm their selections, and another 14 had introduced legislation to do so; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County Council has repeatedly urged the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to adopt legislation that would require a voter verified paper record for all electronic voting machines, and has also already allocated the funds that would be necessary for retrofitting the County's system with such a capability; and
WHEREAS, United States Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey has introduced HR 811, a bill that would amend HAVA to require machines to produce an individual paper ballot that would allow voters to verify their choices, and at least 200 other Representatives have co-sponsored this bill;
NOW THERE FOR BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, supports the production of voter verified paper ballots for each voter before they confirm their voting choices. The City Council of Pittsburgh accordingly urges the United States Congress to adopt the provisions of HR 811, such that all electronic voting machines must produce such ballots with audits under he terms of the Help America Vote Act.
BE IF FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of Pittsburgh further resolves that copies of this Resolution be provided to the Pennsylvania representatives in the United States Congress.