Washington, DC - On the 42nd anniversary to the day of Bloody Sunday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) today announced that they are reintroducing in both chambers of Congress comprehensive voting reform legislation that demands an electoral system that not only ensures that every voter is given the opportunity to cast a vote, but also instills in every voter the confidence that his or her vote has been counted. Senator Clinton and Representative Tubbs Jones announced the action today in a press conference joined by co-sponsors Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative John Lewis (D-GA) and voting rights advocates, including Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the American Way; Hilary Shelton, Director of the Washington Office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Barbara Arnwine, the Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Wendy Weiser, Deputy Director, the Brennan Center for Justice.

"Voting is the most precious right of every U.S. citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our elections. We cannot rest until we have done everything we can to make sure that voters have confidence in our voting system and exercise their right to vote. We must be able to easily and accurately count every vote so that every vote counts," said Senator Clinton.

"I am pleased to once again join with Senator Clinton in introducing companion legislation in the House as we continue our efforts to ensure that every American is afforded their Constitutional right to vote," said Representative Tubbs Jones. "Considering the tremendous election discrepancies that we have seen take place in this country, including this past mid-term election, we know that we are still dealing with a flawed system. The passage of this legislation is paramount to ensuring that people throughout this country are not disenfranchised when they attempt to exercise their right to vote."

"It was exactly 42 years ago today that Hosea Williams and I led a march of 600 peaceful protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Many of them gave a little blood on that bridge for the cause of voting rights in America. It is because of those brave individuals that I and so many others hold seats in Congress today. We have come a great distance, but we still live in an America where some votes are nullified, discounted, and disregarded, and where some communities are systematically disenfranchised from full participation in the democratic process. We need this comprehensive voting reform to help continue the work that those marchers and so many others throughout our history sacrificed to build—a more free, more fair democratic society," said Representative Lewis.

The Count Every Vote Act will provide a voter verified paper record for every vote cast in electronic voting machines and ensures access to voter verification for all citizens, including language minority voters, illiterate voters and voters with disabilities. The bill mandates that this ballot be the official ballot for purposes of a recount. The bill sets a uniform standard for provisional ballots so that every qualified voter will know their votes are treated equally, and requires the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and trained election personnel in every community. The bill also improves security measures for electronic voting machines.

To ensure that citizens have the ability to vote in a timely and efficient manner, the Count Every Vote Act requires states to work to reduce wait times for voters at polling places. It also designates Election Day a federal holiday and requires early voting in each state in order to encourage more citizens to exercise their right to vote. The bill also enacts "no-excuse" absentee balloting, enacts fair and uniform voter registration and identification, and requires states to allow citizens to register to vote on Election Day. In addition, the legislation restores voting rights for ex-offenders who have repaid their debt to society.

The Count Every Vote Act also includes measures to protect voters from the conflicts of interest and deceptive practices that lead to the disenfranchisement of voters and harm voter trust in the integrity of the system. In particular, the bill prohibits chief state election officials as well as owners and executives of voting machine manufacturers from serving in any position on the political campaign committee of a candidate or engaging in other kinds of partisan campaign activities. The bill also makes it a federal crime to commit deceptive practices, such as sending flyers into minority neighborhoods telling voters the wrong voting date, and makes these practices a felony punishable by up to five years of imprisonment.

The legislation is supported by People For the American Way, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, the NAACP, Common Cause, U.S. PIRG and the Brennan Center for Justice. At today's press conference, representatives from civil rights organizations emphasized the urgent need to pass the Count Every Vote Act.

"The need for election reform is clear," said Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation. "Every Republican, Democrat and Independent deserves the right to vote without unnecessary barriers to the ballot box, and with the confidence that each vote will be counted. Unfortunately, our current election system fails to live up to that basic promise. That's why this legislation is so important."

"The vote is the heart of democracy. Today there are too many barriers to citizens registering, voting and knowing their vote will count. This legislation would make a major stride toward fixing our broken election system and restoring democracy's promise. Our research and litigation shows these are just the steps that are needed," said Michael Waldman, Executive Director of the Brennan Center for Justice.

Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee said: "The Count Every Vote Act responds to the hundreds of thousands of American voters who called the 1-866-OUR-VOTE voter services hotline reporting the real problems that lead to disenfranchisement across the country. Unfortunately, too many voters are needlessly blocked from exercising their fundamental right to vote by defects in an unresponsive and insufficient election administration system. I commend the co-sponsors for looking beyond partisanship and putting the fundamental rights of all American voters first."

Senator Clinton and Representative Tubbs Jones first introduced the Count Every Vote Act in the 109th Congress along with colleagues in both chambers. They will continue to work this Congress to address the unfinished business of election reform. Co-sponsors of the Count Every Vote Act include Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Kerry (D-MA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative John Lewis (D-GA).

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