Voter Empowerment Act would Improve Elections for Both Voters and Officials

Today, the Voter Empowerment Act (VEA) was introduced in the House of Representatives. Estelle Rogers, legislative director for Project Vote, issued the following statement in support of this important legislation.

“The Voter Empowerment Act, sponsored by five leading Democrats in the House, is common sense legislation that, by all rights, should be bipartisan; indeed, it should be co-sponsored by every member of the House and Senate.

“Since 2000, election after election in this country has been plagued with glitches and problems that inconvenience voters, erode voter confidence, and add to the already considerable burden of election officials. It is high time we had workable federal standards for federal elections.

“The VEA includes a number of provisions that would improve election administration for both voters and public officials. These include online and same-day voter registration, early voting, improved pollworker training, increased access for people with disabilities, prohibitions on deceptive practices and voter caging, and uniform rules for re-enfranchisement of prisoners, among many others. A similar bill was introduced in the last Congress, but failed to progress.

“We are hopeful that this time the need to reform our election process will carry the day, and legislators from both parties will be able to see past their partisan political interests and pass a bill that will dramatically improve our system of elections. Such reforms will benefit all voters, as well as those who are eligible but not yet registered.”