Voting is the foundational act that breathes life into the principle of the consent of the governed. DeForest Soaries More Quotes by DeForest Soaries More Quotes From DeForest Soaries And if we were another country being analyzed by America, we would conclude that this country is ripe for stealing elections and for fraud. DeForest Soaries election country america When public access to voting is impaired or when public confidence in voting is diluted, democracy suffers and our freedom is less secure. DeForest Soaries voting democracy suffering It's an embarrassment that we don't have a broad enough consensus among political leaders that true reform should take place. DeForest Soaries political leader enough My sense was that most of the elected officials in Washington - in their heart of hearts - really believe that the system can't be too bad because it produced them. DeForest Soaries elected-officials heart believe The Election Assistance Commission represents a major, unprecedented commitment from the federal government to sustained freedom and vibrant democracy. I am humbled by the prospect of being one its charter members. DeForest Soaries perspective government commitment I found that there is very little interest in Washington for true election reform. That neither the White House nor either house of the Congress seems to be as committed to guaranteeing democratic participation in this country as we seem to be in other countries. DeForest Soaries white house country My sense was that most of the elected officials in Washington - in their heart of hearts - really believe that the system can't be too bad because it produced them. And when people in power can stay in power they do very little to tinker with the apparatus that put them in power. We've seen it time after time after time. DeForest Soaries heart believe people Beyond that, states had to also have electronic voting machines that made it possible for people who are physically handicapped to vote in private... and the computerized voting machine made it very easy for, particularly, the blind. DeForest Soaries machines voting people And when people in power can stay in power they do very little to tinker with the apparatus that put them in power. DeForest Soaries littles people When I was growing up, we used to play basketball in a park that was never shoveled when it snowed. The basketball rims were never fixed. And we understood then that there was a relationship between public policy and our quality of life. DeForest Soaries growing-up basketball inspirational Voting in this country has essentially been relegated to a very fledging group of election officials, who receive no training and operate on shoestring budgets on one hand, and political consultants whose job is to get their candidates elected on the other. And when you have that kind of scenario, it's really hard to describe yourself as a vibrant democracy. It's an embarrassment. DeForest Soaries being-yourself political country We have no basis for having a recall of any particular type of voting equipment because there are no standards. And when we do have standards, even these standards are required to be voluntary. DeForest Soaries equipment standards voting When Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002, I was thrilled to learn that the federal government would offer resources to all states to assist them in enhancing the voting process in America. DeForest Soaries voting government america I was the Secretary of State of New Jersey in November 2000. I paid careful attention to the challenges that stemmed from inadequate voting systems in various places. DeForest Soaries voting challenges attention Democracy means that you have the right to vote without intimidation and undue burdens. DeForest Soaries vote democracy mean What we say is that democracy means that you have the right to vote without intimidation and undue burdens. But if you stand in line for six hours, technically, today there is no document, no standard, no law that says that that's wrong. DeForest Soaries democracy law mean I started out as a 16 year old registering people to vote. DeForest Soaries old year vote people It's an embarrassment that we don't have a broad enough consensus among political leaders that true reform should take place. I could count the members of Congress on one hand that took these issues seriously. DeForest Soaries true place political enough We had to depend on other institutions to do research on our behalf. We had to use the information that already existed to craft the best practices to distribute throughout the country. And we had to do all of that in ten months. DeForest Soaries best information research country
