'Challengers' - Blackwell III.B

Thankfully, the US House had worked on the problem by producing what would eventually receive the wonkish name of Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 2001 & 2002. To reach that point of a finely crafted bill, many hours of testimony and bill crafting took place during 2001, with SoS Blackwell spending much of his time travelling to Washington to testify about improvements needed in election reform.

On Wednesday April 25, 2001 Blackwell testified about election reform before the Committee on House Administration. Following Arkansas' SoS Sharon Priest, Blackwell gave a brief 5 - 10 minute presentation about Ohio's state-induced reforms, the estimated costs for reform ($120 million), and who should foot the bill for such action: the feds. He intoned,

First and foremost, elections are a state business, and should remain so... Second, universal standards must be established to assure voters that each ballot will be counted in the same manner within each individual state. My office estimates that it will cost Ohioans 120 million dollars to replace our punch-card machines... While election reform continues to have widespread public support, the resources to implement these costly upgrades are few or nonexistent... Unfortunately, election systems upgrade efforts across the country have been met with the harsh reality of tight budgets and overtaxed citizens.''

After championing state's rights in the sphere of elections, he advocated federal funding and federally mandated standards. He concluded by urging,

"We must not let this issue get swept under the rug. I encourage the members of this committee to facilitate expedient, thoughtful, and effective measures to assisst our state with election reform results."

Wisdom coupled with speed would serve to produce the best bill possible.

A few months later on June 27 Blackwell returned to Foggy Bottom, but this time he crossed the atrium to visit the committee room of the US Senate. He testified about election reform before the Senate committee of Rules and Administration, addressing the relationships between federal funding to states and federal power over states. He warned,

With financial assistance from the federal government, states will be able to make these changes and improvements. But federal funds should not come with federal mandates. The Schumer-McConnell bill recognizes that elections are state business and should remain so. In no uncertain terms, the U.S. Constitution delegates this responsibility to the states. The founders’ wisdom in this matter is just as apparent today as it was centuries ago... I urge you to act quickly, yet cautiously, in a bipartisan manner to assist our states with their election reform efforts. Thank U.

Boldly Blackwell argued for state's rights and a blank check from the federal government to states to use as they pleased. Citing the Senatorial sponsors of the Bill, the US Constitution, and the American Founders, Blackwell attempted to restrain the ever-encroaching power of the Federal Government. He concluded by urging a wise haste, absent of recklessness.

Introduced as H.R. 3295 on Novemer 11, 2001 by Ohio Rep Robert Ney (18th District-R) and 172 co-sponsors, including Ohio Representatives

Paul Gillmore (5th District-R),
Stephenaie Tubbs Jones (11th District-D),
Steven C. Latourette (19th District-R),
Tom Sawyer (14th District),
John Boehner (8th District-R),
Sherrod Brown (13th District-D),
Bob Portman (2nd District-R), and
Patrick J. Tiberi (12th District-R)

the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, referred the bill to the following House Committees: House Administration, Judiciary, Science, Government Reform, and Armed Services. On December 11, 2001 the various committees discharged the bills at at 5:49 (House Administration) and at 5:51 p.m. (the rest).

That same evening Rep Thomas Reynolds (NY- 27th-R) proposed House Resolution 311, which authorized discussion and passage of the bill. The Resolution passed by a roll-call vote 223-193 (22 non-votes). On the next day, December 12, 2001, after a few ammendments were passed and thus added to the bill, the House passed H.R. 3295 at 3:38 p.m. by a roll call vote of 362-63 (9 non-votes). Ohio Representatives Brown (13th-D), Jones (11th -D), Kucinich (D) voted against the bill.

On December 12, 2001, Rep Ney thanked SoS Blackwell in the Congressional Record for his work towards election reform, when Ney stated,

"Mr. Speaker, this bill evolved from a punch card issue into something way beyond that that has teeth, that makes changes, but does it in a responsible way That is why we have the support of local governments: ...Ken Blackwell, a Republican SoS from Ohio."

More than likely this bill would have received passage sooner but, ahh, a small event slowed down the already slow beauracratic process. That event was the now sad and infamous "September 11, 2001," when Usama Bin Laden murdered his own henchmen so as to attack America. Shortly after 9-11-01, the US attacked and destroyed Afghanistan, so one ought to count it a big surprise that this bill ever passed on December 11, 2001.

Continuing his push for election reform, Blackwell informed the January 1, 2002 OAEO summit not only of the previous year's split vote by the Election's Summit over removing the punch-card ballot system and implementing a new type but also of the minority report that he and others submitted. The report recommended fixing the problems surrounding punch-card ballots.

"After informing the commission of the US House's HAVA 2001, he concluded with some sage advice given by Franklin Roosevelt: “To be seen…stand up. To be heard…speak up. To be appre-ciated…shut up.”

Upon concluding his somewhat depressing remarks over the lack of success both in the State of Ohio and Nationally, he ended his speech. At this point, it must be noted that the Ohio state legislature was designing a new bill, and the House's bill had yet to travel the snail-like halls of the senate. Yet Blackwell soldiered on in his quest for new voting machines.

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