U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

2004 NEWS RELEASES, PRESS ADVISORIES AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

ELECTION 2004 - IS AMERICA READY

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Examines Integrity, Security and Accessibility in the Nation's Readiness to Vote

Friday April 9, 2004, 9:30 am
Commission Headquarters
624 9th Street, NW, Room 540
Washington, DC 20425

Washington, DC - With just seven months to go before the country's general elections, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights begins to probe the question - Is America Ready to Vote? In the first in a series of briefings, the Commission will convene technology experts and others who will discuss issues regarding security of high-technology voting systems; uniform voter identification requirements; voter accessibility to polling places and machines; availability of provisional voting; and the federal role in implementing the Help America Vote Act.

The Commissioners will be briefed by two panels: (1) Technology and Security and (2) Civil Rights Access.

Panel 1

• Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, Research Fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and an international expert on electronic voting
• Dr. Michael Ian Shamos, Director of the Universal Library and Principal Systems Scientist in the Language Technologies Institute at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University
• Maria Rodriguez Salazar, President, Oroville LULAC Council
• Meg Smothers, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Georgia

Panel 2

• Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
• Jim Dickson, Vice President, Government Affairs, American Association of People with Disabilities
• Larry Gonzalez, Director, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Official

"While significant progress has been made nationwide, there are still areas in which more must be done to ensure that every eligible American can vote and that every vote will be accurately counted," said Commission Chairperson Mary Frances Berry. "We are especially interested in hearing from technology experts who have found problems and can offer solutions. Questions are now being raised whether these new systems can be trusted."

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent bipartisan agency charged with monitoring and protecting voting rights. Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights include Chairperson Mary Frances Berry, Vice Chairperson Cruz Reynoso and Commissioners Jennifer C. Braceras, Christopher Edley Jr., Peter N. Kirsanow, Elsie M. Meeks, Russell G. Redenbaugh, and Abigail Thernstrom. Les Jin is Staff Director. Commission meetings are open to the media and general public.

A paper outlining some of the Commission's prior findings will be distributed at the briefing. For more information about the April 9 briefing, please contact Audrey Williams at 202/833-9771.

04/06/04