Received today from Senator Carl Levin:

Thank you for contacting me about the 2004 Presidential election and
election reform. I appreciate hearing your views on this matter.

Allegations of voter suppression and election fraud as well as
questions about the reliability of our voting systems are serious concerns.
As the 2004 election results are certified and evaluated, we must work to
address any issues that may arise. We must ensure that all eligible
citizens have the opportunity to vote and that every vote is counted.

According to the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate,
in the 2000 presidential election 2.5 million votes out of 101 million were
not counted. In other words, many Americans made the effort to participate
in our democratic system, yet their votes did not count. This is simply
unacceptable.

In 2002, I supported the Help America Vote Act (HAVA, P.L.107-252),
which is a major step toward correcting many of the inadequacies of our
election system. This law established a set of standards to correct voting
errors and to ensure accessibility for the disabled. It also encourages
states, along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), to set uniform benchmarks and reporting requirements for voting
system performance. In addition, HAVA ensures that the most effective
voting equipment is available to states by funding research and pilot
programs, performing studies on voting technology, and providing explicit
voter guidelines and certification programs.

HAVA authorized funds for each state to purchase new voting systems
that comply with HAVAs standards. In Michigan, the Secretary of State
convened a HAVA Advisory Committe to review the available systems and
Michigans needs for future elections. In 2003, Michigan's Secretary of
State announced that she selected an optical scan voting system for
Michigan. The optical scan voting system requires voters to place a mark
in a designated spot on the ballot next to the name of the candidate
receiving the vote. When the votes are counted these marks are read by an
optical scanner. The optical scan voting system creates and preserves a
paper trail of each vote, thereby greatly enhancing the security and
accuracy of election results.

In February 2004, the Information Security Institute at Johns Hopkins
University released an analysis of electronic voting systems
(http://avirubin.com/vote.pdf). This and other reports found major flaws
in certain direct record electronic (DRE) software programs, often
referred to as touch-screen voting systems, which were used in several
states. If left uncorrected, these flaws could intentionally enable
unscrupulous persons to modify existing votes or to cast multiple votes by
using a counterfeit voting card. Because of the fundamental importance of
fair and accurate elections to our democracy, I support providing
additional funds for HAVA programs to ensure that all voting systems and
procedures, including DRE systems, are secure, accurate, recountable, and
accessible.

HAVA also establishes provisional voting systems to ensure that no
registered voter is turned away from voting booths, allows every blind and
disabled person to cast a vote privately and independently, and utilizes
statewide voter registration lists and verification systems for voters who
register by mail to permit only eligible voters to vote. This law also
established a new federal agency, the Election Assistance Commission, which
is a bipartisan group of commissioners who have no rulemaking authority but
issue voluntary guidelines for voting systems and their requirements. This
commission also carries out the grant programs, provides for the
certification and testing of voting systems and studies election issues.

Unfortunately, President Bush and the Congressional majority provided
insufficient federal funding for HAVA programs prior to the 2004 election,
which prompted great concern. The Fiscal Year 2004 Omnibus Appropriations
Act (P.L.108-199) allocated $500 million to improve our electoral system,
only half the amount authorized for FY04.

While HAVA has gone a long way toward reforming our electoral system,
more needs to be done. I am hopeful that during the next Congress we will
be able to work together on a bipartisan basis to address these concerns
and to restore the public's faith in the electoral process. The goal of
ensuring that every vote counts is essential to ensuring democracy.
American voters deserve an electoral process that is both secure and
accurate, and I will continue to work to ensure that every citizen is
afforded that right.

Thank you again for writing. Sincerely, Carl Levin