Elections and Voting

Latest News

GAO: Continued Federal Efforts Needed to Improve Electronic Voting

A new GAO report released by Rep. Waxman, Chairman Davis, and eleven other members of Congress finds security and reliability flaws in the electronic voting process.

GAO Asked to Investigate Election Day Lines

Rep. Waxman and Rep. Conyers ask GAO to investigate the long lines and excessive waiting times experienced by voters in the 2004 election.

Call for GAO Investigation into Overseas Voting Problems

Reps. Waxman and Maloney ask GAO to investigate whether the Defense Department is fulfilling its obligation to ensure that Americans living abroad, both military and civilian, can vote.

DOJ Unprepared to Handle Allegations of Voting Irregularities

A new GAO report released by Reps. Waxman and Conyers finds that the Justice Department is not prepared to respond to reports of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement in next month’s elections.

DOD Blocking Access to Overseas Voting Assistance Website

Reps. Waxman, Maloney, and Clay write DOD regarding recent reports that the Department is blocking access to the Federal Voting Assistance Program website for many Americans overseas.

Members Submit Bipartisan Request for GAO Investigation of Electronic Voting

Chairman Davis, Rep. Waxman, and eleven other Members of Congress ask GAO to study of the security and reliability of electronic voting systems.

GAO Report: 2000 Presidential Election Undercount

At the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, the General Accounting Office investigated the impact of voting equipment and the demographic characteristics of voters on the undercount in the 2000 presidential election. The report found that voters using punch-card machines had the highest percentage of uncounted ballots and that switching from punch-card machines to optical scan machines that allow voters to correct errors could prevent hundreds of thousands of uncounted ballots.

National Voting Study: Poor and Minority Voters Are More Likely to Have Their Votes Discarded

Millions of ballots were not counted during the 2000 presidential election. While some voters choose not to vote for any candidate or intentionally voted for two candidates, the more common reason for votes not being counted was faulty voting machines. Rep. Waxman was concerned that votes of poor and minority voters might be disproportionately discarded. Along with 20 other members of Congress, he asked the Special Investigations Division to investigate whether voters in low-income, high-minority districts were more likely to have their votes discarded than voters in affluent, low-minority districts. He also asked the Special Investigations Division to investigate the impact of technology on the undercount. The report examined 40 congressional districts in 20 states. Twenty of these districts had high poverty rates and a high minority population. Twenty of the districts were relatively affluent and had a low minority population. The report found that voters in low-income, high-minority districts were over three times more likely to have their votes discarded as voters in affluent, low-minority districts. But the report also found that improved voting technology can reduce the number of uncounted ballots cast by voters in districts with high poverty rates and high minority population by up to 85%, significantly reducing the disparity between the two groups.

Investigation Finds Detroit Election Reforms Worked

At the request of Rep. Waxman, the Special Investigations Division conducted a case study of efforts to reduce uncounted ballots in Detroit, the nation's poorest city. The investigation found that Detroit's reforms worked. By replacing punch-card machines and conducting voter education, Detroit reduced the percent of uncounted votes for president by two-thirds between 1996 and 2000. The report was released during a “Special Investigations Briefing” on April 5, 2001.

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