Voters Should Never Wonder If Their Vote Will Be Counted (Rep. Rush Holt)

Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy, and we must do all we can to protect the right to vote. That is why I have introduced the Provisional Ballot Fairness in Counting Act of 2007, a bill that would close a major loophole in the Help America Vote Act.

The Help America Vote Act sought to enfranchise voters by mandating that voters who are told they are not on the registration rolls be given provisional ballots. It was assumed that those citizens determined to be eligible would have their votes counted. It didn’t, however, establish standards for how and when those ballots would be counted. In fact in many instances those ballots in many districts simply were not counted. My bill would ensure that votes cast correctly would be counted, even votes cast for the correct race but in the wrong precinct.

My legislation requires ballots cast in a state to be counted in statewide races if the voter is registered in the state, and ballots cast in the correct Congressional district to be counted if the voter is registered in the Congressional district, regardless of whether or not the ballots were cast in the correct precinct.
The right to vote is the most fundamental right of our democracy. Voters should never have to leave their polling places wondering if their legitimate vote will be counted.