Home California Assemblywoman Fletcher, Secretary of State Padilla Announce Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2018

Assemblywoman Fletcher, Secretary of State Padilla Announce Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2018

by ECT

SACRAMENTO – California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) and Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced the introduction of the Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2018.

The bond, known as Assembly Bill 668, calls for $450,000,000 in bonds be issued to pay for upgrading voting systems in California’s 58 counties.

“Voting is the most important right we have. Voting should be as easy as possible, and outdated and barely functioning voting systems discourage participation and present challenges to elections officials. A healthy democracy has healthy and functioning voting systems,” stated Assemblywoman Gonzalez Fletcher.

“California voting equipment is perilously near its life expectancy,” said Secretary Padilla. “Many counties have voting systems that were designed and engineered in the 1990s. These older voting systems rely on antiquated hardware with some using zip drives, dot matrix printers, and Windows 2000 or 2003.  We wouldn’t settle for 20-year old technology in our cell phones and computers—our voting systems should be no different. An investment in modern voting systems will help protect the integrity of our elections and better serve voters. Modern technology will improve disability and language access, expand early voting opportunities, and provide more options for where, when, and how voters can cast a ballot.”

“With the introduction of AB 668, the state has an opportunity to create a path forward for counties to acquire critically needed equipment, replacing outdated and aging voting systems,” said Dean Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and President of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials.

In a report published in March, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) recommends that the Legislature consider one-time funding to replace aging voting systems. Specifically, the LAO wrote, “In one example, a county’s system had a failed part that no longer is supported by the manufacturer or easy to replace. The county purchased a replacement part through eBay. In another example, a county uses the same system it used in the 1990s. Although this county’s system has been updated periodically, it currently relies on computers that operate on Microsoft Windows XP—an operating system that was released in 2001 and no longer receives free security upgrades or other support from the manufacturer. Both of these examples raise serious concerns about the security of the voting system as well as the possibility of a catastrophic failure of voting systems in counties.”

The last major investment in California elections systems came through the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 and Proposition 41, the Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2002, providing $252 million and $200 million respectively. These funds were provided to counties as a reimbursement on a 3:1 matching basis, requiring counties to directly pay for 25 percent of their new voting systems. In September 2015, New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice issued a report that raised concerns including the failure of equipment to work as intended and the difficulty of finding replacement parts for machines that are no longer manufactured.

“The problem of aging voting technology is national and widespread. We ignore it at our collective peril,” said Lawrence Norden, Deputy Director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. “With this bill, California proposes to lead the country with a comprehensive modernization, which will improve accessibility, security, and reliability of our state’s elections.”

AB 668 will also fund innovations in voting access for Californians. Funding would enhance early voting options, same-day voter registration, vote centers, language access, disability access and cyber security. The bill will be heard in the Assembly on Committee on Elections and Redistricting on Wednesday, April 26.

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2 comments

Old Pittsburg/Antioch Hwy Border Apr 21, 2017 - 7:54 am

You can make a phone application for far less, controllable by the Secretary of State Voter department and upgrade in each voting machine unnecessary. Anyone with a phone can give those without a phone a right to vote. Just hand them your phone, open the app, put in your info, vote, done! But we all know this takes money away from the politicians to raise their war chests at election time.

Sean Maguidhir Apr 21, 2017 - 3:58 pm

You are clueless about the security issues which permeates your suggestion.

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