Helping America Vote

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) passed through Congress in 2000, and was the first bill signed into law by President George W. Bush after the controversial  Florida recount.  HAVA requires states to meet new federal requirements -- including provisional ballots, statewide computerized voter lists, "second chance" voting, and disability access -- that are designed to protect voting rights. Like many federal enticement policies, HAVA appropriates resources based upon state policy behavior.  If a state legislature enacts a plan, they receive federal funding.  For cash-strapped states, that’s a hard offer to pass up. 

It’s worth noting states enacting plans have a choice to take the Low Road or the High Road in HAVA enforcement.   They can make voting more difficult, cut the number of polling places, keep people out of the process, and decrease turnout, or they can make voting easier, create more polling locations, bring citizens into the process, and increase participation.

DEMOS has been a trailblazer on High Road HAVA practices, and you can check out best practices on their HAVA Resource Page.

ALICE thanks DEMOS and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights for mapping out the high road on HAVA, and we encourage you to contact them about questions on implimenting HAVA in your state.

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