Connolly Introduces FAST Voting Act to Alleviate Polling Place Issues

In reaction to the long waiting times many Virginia voters faced on Election Day, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) introduced legislation on Thursday to provide some relief to voters.

The congressman’s Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act of 2012 would essentially create a competitive grant program to encourage states to reform the administration of their elections to make voting faster and more convenient.

“Under the legislation, states that demonstrate the most comprehensive and promising reform plans will earn a greater portion of the grant funding,” Connolly said in a statement.

After the election, several Prince William County government agencies and politicians offered different interpretations on what was wrong with the current voting system. Connolly hopes the new legislation will alleviate the frustration of voters across the country.

“We faced long lines at a number of polling places in Virginia. That is unacceptable,” Connolly said. “Virginia and many other states can do better.  This legislation is designed to jump start election reform and provide states with the tools to make their elections more efficient and more accessible to all voters.”

The legislation, cosponsored by Congressman James Langevin of Rhode Island, is a companion bill to Senate legislation introduced the same day by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and cosponsored by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia.

Connolly’s bill would authorize a federal program to award grants to states if they can improve access to the polls in at least nine specific ways. These include:

• Providing flexible registration opportunities, including same-day registration;
• Providing early voting, at a minimum of 9 of the 10 calendar days preceding an election;
• Providing absentee voting, including no-excuse absentee voting;
• Providing assistance to voters who do not speak English as a primary language;
• Providing assistance to voters with disabilities, including visual impairment;
• Providing effective access to voting for members of the armed services;
• Providing formal training of election officials, including state and county officials and volunteers;
• Auditing and reducing waiting times at polling stations; and
• Creating contingency plans for voting in the event of a natural or other disaster.

"The program also requires an assessment of steps a state has taken to eliminate statutory, regulatory, procedural, and other barriers to expedited voting and accessible voter registration," Connolly said.