HAVA - Help America Vote Act of
2002
On October 29, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the
“Help America Vote Act of 2002", (HAVA), Pub. L. No. 107-252, 116 Stat.
1666 (2002) into law. The impetus for this legislation was the Florida debacle
of Election Day 2000.
The Legislation aims to improve
the administration of elections in the United States, primarily through three
means:
- Creating a new federal agency to serve as a clearinghouse
for election administration information;
- Providing funds to states to improve election
administration and replace outdated voting systems; and
- Creating minimum standards for states to follow in
several key areas of election administration.
One of the intended results of this legislation is to make
sure that elections are accessible to all voters, including voters with
disabilities. HAVA requires states to, among other things, provide physically
accessible polling sites and at least one accessible voting machine at each
site. New York State is to receive more than $200 million in federal funds to,
along with other things, purchase new voting machines. But, before NYS can
receive the bulk of the money, it must pass “enabling” legislation
that implements a voting system compliant with HAVA by January 2006.
Around the end of April, the legislature convened a Joint
Conference Committee on HAVA. The overwhelming majority of the Committee’s
time has been spent on what types of identification will be acceptable for
voters to use to identify themselves at the voting booth. The Committee
continually ignored issues surrounding polling site access and machine access.
When the Committee finally raised the issue of voting machine access, there was
no agreement on how to proceed.
The technology exists that can provide the necessary
accommodation(s) so that virtually anyone with a disability who wants to vote
can vote privately and independently. Disability advocates in New York are
keeping a watchful eye on the State’s search for new polling machines.
For more information on HAVA, check out the following
websites:
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