Congressional Record
ELECTION REFORM AND WEEKEND VOTING
February 26, 2002
Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I am pleased to offer my support to the election reform legislation we are considering today. The
election of 2000 lay bare many problems in our election system and highlighted some of the barriers to voting which have kept
too many from the polls over the years. If we are to eliminate these barriers and conduct federal elections which truly ensure
equal access to the polls and protect voters' rights, as already required by law, we need to have consistent standards for voting
systems and the administration of elections. And, if we are sincere about instituting reforms then it is not enough for us to set
standards. We must also provide the funding to help implement these standards. Fortunately, the bipartisan substitute
amendment to S. 565 authorizes $3.5 billion over the next five years for grants to states and localities to do just that.
While the Justice Department will have a prominent role in the implementation of this election reform legislation, the bill before
us also creates a new federal agency, the Election Administration Commission. This Commission will administer voting system
standards, provisional voting requirements, the establishment of computerized, statewide voter registration systems, and grant
programs and it would assume the functions of the Office of Election Administration of the Federal Election Commission. The
new Commission will conduct studies on election technology and administration and submit a report to Congress and the
President with recommendations for administrative and legislative action.
I am especially pleased we are directing the Commission to study and make recommendations for us to consider future
reforms because I believe that there are other reforms worth considering and implementing. One such reform I have advocated
for many years now is to change our election day, and I was pleased to join with my colleagues in offering an amendment which
addresses this issue.
Senators HOLLINGS, REID, and I offered an amendment which was adopted late yesterday which directs the Election
Administration Commission to study the viability of changing the day for congressional and presidential elections from the first
Tuesday in November to a holiday or the weekend, with the possibility of looking at Veterans Day or the first weekend in
November. Last year, and earlier back in 1997, during the 105th Congress, I introduced legislation that would move federal
elections to the weekend.
The legislation already directs the new Commission to study the feasibility and advisability of conducting elections for federal
office on different days, at different places, and during different hours, including the advisability of establishing a uniform closing
time and establishing election day as a federal holiday. Our amendment requires that they complete such a study within 6
months after the establishment of the Election Administration Commission.
Last year, the National Commission on Federal Election Reform, presented its recommendations to the President on how to
improve the administration of elections in our
country. One of the Commission's recommendations was that we move Election Day to a national holiday, in particular
Veterans Day. As might have been expected, this proposal was not well received by veterans groups who rightly consider this
a diminishment of their service and the day that historically has been designated to honor that service. While I agree with the
Commission's goal of moving election day to a non-working day, and I am interested in exploring the possibility of moving
election to an existing Federal holiday such as Veterans Day, I believe we can achieve all the benefits of holiday voting without
offending our veterans by moving our elections to the weekend.
My weekend voting proposal, which I hope the Commission will consider in its study, would call for the polls to be open the
same hours across the continental United States, addressing the challenge of keeping results on one side of the country, or even
a State, from influencing voting in places where polls are still open. Moving elections to the weekend will expand the pool of
buildings available for polling stations and people available to work at the polls, addressing the critical shortage of poll workers.
Weekend voting also has the potential to increase voter turnout by giving all voters ample opportunity to get to the polls without
creating a national holiday.
Weekend voting would have polls open nationwide for a uniform period of time on Saturday and Sunday. Polls in other time
zones would also open and close at this time. Election officials could close polls during the overnight hours if they determine it
would be inefficient to keep them open. Because the polls are open on Saturday and Sunday, they also would not interfere with
religious observances.
Amidst all the discussion about election reform, there is growing support for uniform polling hours. The free-wheeling
atmosphere surrounding election night in November 2000, with the networks calling the outcome of elections in States when
polling places were still open in many places, and in some cases even in the very States being called, cannot be repeated. While
it is difficult to determine the impact this information has on voter turnout, there is no question that it contributes to the popular
sentiment that voting doesn't matter. At the end of the day, as we assess how to make our elections better, we are not only
seeking to make voting more equitable, we are also looking for ways to engage Americans in our democracy.
Mr. President, I come from the business world where you had a perfect gauge of what the public thought of you and your
products. If you turned a profit, you knew the public liked your product; if you didn't, you knew you needed to make changes.
If customers weren't showing up when your store was open, you knew you had to change your store hours.
In essence, it's time for the American democracy to change its store hours. Since the mid-19th century, election day has been
on the first Tuesday of November. Ironically, this date was selected because it was convenient for voters. Tuesdays were
traditionally court day, and land-owning voters were often coming to town anyway.
Just as the original selection of our national voting day was done for voter convenience, we must adapt to the changes in our
society to make voting easier for the regular family. Sixty percent of all households have two working adults. Since most polls in
the United States are
open only 12 hours, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., voters often have only one or two hours to vote. As we saw in this last election,
even with our relatively low voter turnout, long lines in many polling places kept some waiting even longer than 1 or 2 hours. If
voters have children, and are dropping them off at day care, or if they have a long work commute, there is just not enough time
in a workday to vote.
We can do better by offering more flexible voting hours for all Americans, especially working families.
Since I introduced my weekend voting legislation in 1997, a number of States have been experimenting with novel ways to
increase voter turnout and satisfaction. Oregon conducted the first Presidential elections completely by mail, resulting in
impressive increases in voter turnout. Texas has implemented an early voting plan which also resulted in increased turnout. And
California has relaxed restrictions on absentee voting, and even had weekend voting in some localities. Although there are
security concerns that need to be ironed out, Internet voting has tremendous potential to transform the way we vote. In
Arizona's Democratic primary 46 percent of all votes came via the Internet. The Defense Department coordinated a pilot
program with several U.S. counties and the Federal Voting Assistance Program to have overseas voters, primarily military
voters, cast their votes via the Internet. It is becoming increasingly clear that these new models can increase voter turnout, and
voters are much more pleased with the additional convenience and ease with voting.
For decades we have seen a gradual decline in voter turnout. In 1952, about 63 percent of eligible voters came out to vote;
that number dropped to 49 percent in the 1996 election. We saw a minor increase in the 2000 Presidential election with voter
turnout at 51 percent of eligible voters, however, not a significant increase given the closeness of the election. Non-Presidential
year voter turnout is even more abysmal.
Analysts point to a variety of reasons for this dropoff. Certainly, common sense suggests that the general decline in voter
confidence in government institutions is one logical reason. However, I would like to point out, one survey of voters and
nonvoters suggested that both groups are equally disgruntled with government.
Thus, we must explore ways to make our electoral process more user friendly. We must adjust our institutions to the needs of
the American public of the 21st century. Our democracy has always had the amazing capacity to adapt to the challenges
thrown before it, and we must continue to do so if our country is to grow and thrive.
Of 44 democracies surveyed, 29 of them allow their citizens to vote on holidays or the weekends. And in nearly every one of
these nations, voter turnout surpasses our country's poor performance. We can do better. That is
why I believe we should consider weekend voting.
Mr. President, I recognize a change of this magnitude may take some time. But the many questions raised by our last election
have given us a unique opportunity to reassess all aspects of voting in America. We finally have the momentum to accomplish
real reform. How much lower should our citizens' confidence plummet before we adapt and create a more ``consumer-friendly''
polling system? How much more should voting turnout decline before we realize we need a change?
Weekend voting will not solve all of this democracy's problems, but it is a commonsense approach for adapting this grand
democratic experiment of the 18th century to the American family's lifestyle of the 21st century.
I am pleased that the Senate saw fit to adopt our amendment and I am looking forward to hearing the views of the new
Election Administration Commission on this matter.