(Washington, DC)  Today, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) and the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and Competitiveness examined unfairness and inaccuracy in America's voting systems.

"With allegations of widespread voter disenfranchisement, coupled with faulty and insecure equipment, ensuring accurate elections must be at the top of our agenda," Congressman Yarmuth said.  "At a time when we are half way around the world working to spread democracy, we have to ensure that we have the mechanism in place to secure our own, and lead by example."

The hearing pointed to many vulnerabilities in the current voting system, ranging from the legendary "hanging chads" to the unreliable and easily manipulated touch screen and push button voting machines.  Lack of access for disabled persons, uncounted votes in low-income and high minority areas, and difficulty in obtaining multilingual ballots were also cited as areas of concern.

Congressman Yarmuth has co-sponsored H.R. 811, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007, which will solve many of the challenges facing elections.  The bill mandates that all electronic systems to include paper ballots to ensure the votes are recorded accurately, provides funding for states to comply with standards outline in the Help America Vote Act of 2002, and requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology to increase accessibility for all voters.