[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Citizens of the Dane County area gathered at the Senior Center in Madison Saturday morning as U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, and Congressman Rush Holt, D-New Jersey, discussed the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005.

“[Promotion of voter security is] personal and something that I feel very strongly about,” Baldwin said.

The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act was drafted in response to last year’s Help America Vote Act, which had the unintended consequence of driving various jurisdictions to unverifiable electronic procedures.

The Help America Vote Act, however, intends to increase accessibility for the disabled and helps to keep track of voters, according to proponents.

The electronic voting machines are advantageous because they are clear, simple and easy to use, according to Holt. People neglect to understand these machines are totally unverifiable — the recount gives exactly what was stored in its memory when the poles closed, Holt added.

Holt’s legislation would produce a verified paper trail, so that every citizen’s ballot serves as an auditable record.

The estimated cost of the legislation stands at $150 million, but if people consider the value of democracy, it does not amount to much, Holt said.

“It may be through technicalities that people lose this hard-earned right to vote,” Holt said.

Under the new bill, a machine would still count the votes, but in questionable circumstances a paper trail would always be available.

Holt said his legislation would be able to recover any systematic error, and the software would be publicly disclosed. Also, a required document chain of custody with respect to handling software would be provided for, and wireless access would be prohibited to prevent unauthorized entry.

Random, unannounced, hand-count audits of the verified paper records would be conducted in two percent of all jurisdictions, according to the text of the new legislation.

Though the legislators did not approve of some aspects of the Help America Vote Act, the new legislation specifically addresses preserving the measure’s existing requirements for voters with disabilities.

But some groups believe it is too soon and too difficult for new legislation regarding voter security to be passed. Voting-machine manufacturers are opposed because they do not want to cast doubt on their machines.

Many election officials say they have been using these machines for several years with no problems, but Holt believes officials would not know if there was a problem.

Republicans also become defensive when anyone mentions election irregularities, Holt said.

Many U.S. districts are switching to electronic voting, with roughly 50 million Americans already using electronic voting machines.

More and more people are skeptical of whether their vote will count the way they cast it, Holt said, adding he finds it encouraging to see people concerned.

“There’s a lot that citizens, as citizens, can do to see that the process works,” Holt said.