Testimony of Kay Coles James submitted to the
United States Senate Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights
“The Continuing Need for Federal Examiners and Observers to Ensure Electoral
Integrity"
July 10, 2006
Washington, DC
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee,
Thank you for inviting me to testify before this Committee. This Committee is to be
commended for holding these hearings into the many elements of election administration.
Today, I would like to share with you information about two aspects of elections with
which I have particular knowledge and interest: the federal observers program, and the
arguments in favor of voter identification cards.
As I stated in my testimony before the United States House of Representatives
Committee on Administration in October 2005, I grew up in Richmond, Virginia at a
time when voting was a risky endeavor in some places in the South. This conflict
between the American ideal and the painful reality is well documented in U.S. history
including the deaths of civil rights advocates and voter registration activists. I heartily
acknowledge the great progress made since then; however, I would not rest comfortably
if I stated that we, in America, have arrived.
This background has given me, I believe, a particular appreciation for the right to
participate as a voter in our local, state, and national elections. While all voters should be
certain of the right to participate in elections free from violence and intimidation and to
be certain that their vote is fairly counted, this right is especially appreciated by members
of the African American community.
Federal Observers Program
Mr. Chairman, as you are aware, I was Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management from 2001 until 2005. In this capacity I was responsible for the portion of
the Voting Rights Act that authorizes the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
to provide observers to certain political subdivisions (counties) and other political units as
determined by the Attorney General. In such subdivisions, observers may enter any place
where an election is being held to monitor (1) whether persons who are entitled to vote
are being permitted to vote, and (2) whether votes cast are being properly tabulated, if so
requested by the Attorney General. The observers then prepare reports that are submitted
to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which enforces the
Voting Rights Act. Voting Rights observations are held for elections throughout the
year. OPM provides observers to monitor elections for ethnic and racial discriminatory
practices, and for compliance with the language minority provisions of the Act.
In her testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the
Constitution in November of last year, OPM Deputy Associate Director for Human
Resources Products and Services Nancy Randa presented an explanation of the duties and
purpose of observers. She wrote:
Since 1966, we have deployed over 26,000 observers in a total of 22
States. Prior to 1976, we sent observers to only 5 States: Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. In the past 10 years,
as more jurisdictions have been subject to coverage under the minority
language provisions of the Act, we sent the next largest number of
observers, after Mississippi, to these States (in this order): Arizona, New
Mexico, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Voting Rights observers serve as neutral monitors, who do not intervene if
there are violations. They only watch, listen, and record events that occur
at particular polling sites on election days.1
1
Statement of Nancy Randa, Deputy Associate Director for Human Resources Products and
Services, Office of Personnel Management, before the House of Representatives Committee on the
Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. November 15, 2005. Available online:
opm.gov/news_events/congress/testimony/11_15_2005.asp. Accessed July 2006.
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I firmly believe that observers are a useful, and in many cases, necessary tool to detect
and prevent acts of voter fraud or intimidation which would prevent certain groups from
voting. They also are an important tool in preventing disenfranchisement through vote
dilution – in which the voting power of some Americans is diluted by those who vote
twice, or vote illegally.
However, I also believe that there is room for improvement within the observers program
itself. The observers play a fundamental role in upholding the credibility and integrity of
American elections. Theirs is one of the noblest forms of public service that exists in our
country today.
Because of that, as well as the need to keep the program free from political interference, I
argue that the observers program is under the right agency. The Office of Personnel
Management was formed with a firm devotion to the ideal of a de-political civil service.
Theodore Roosevelt upheld this ideal in his position as U.S. Civil Service Commissioner
and later President of the United States, striving for reforms that fought the entrenched
spoils system of his day. OPM is an organization that continues to strive for political
neutrality in conducting the day-to-day affairs of government. For this reason, the federal
observers program is and ought to be under the supervision of OPM.
While at OPM, I became very concerned about the organization and management of the
federal observers program.
Further investigation led me to believe that significant
improvements could be made to the program. There are two areas, in particular, in which
I believe the observers program could be improved in such a way that would increase its
credibility and significance within the national electoral system.
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First, the federal
observers program deserves a higher priority and visibility within the Office of Personnel
Management. Today, the observers program is operated out of Denver (Lakewood)
Colorado, under the supervision of the Division for Human Resources Product and
Services in the Center for Talent Services. Moving the observers program to Washington
would increase its visibility and send a strong message about the importance of observers.
Also, I believe that the training provided to observers can be improved. The one-day
training program is informal, and could be improved with a thorough and well-managed
curriculum. Furthermore, with recent increases in electronic voting, as well as changes in
voting laws, it is vital that the training of observers be consistent, rigorous, and up-to-date
with new voting technologies.
Second, the selection process for observers should continue to be publicized and free
from any remnants of a patronage system.
Unfortunately, currently the program is
relatively unknown and many Americans have never heard of the program, much less
been provided with information on how to become an observer. Anyone who is qualified
should be given the opportunity to serve as a federal observer, and improvements to the
recruitment system would make it easier for them to do so.
Voter Identification Cards
The second area that I have been asked to address is in the area of voter identification
cards. I was a member of the Commission on Federal Election Reform chaired by former
President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker. This Commission
met on several occasions over nine months in 2005, and worked to produce what I
believe is a very fine report outlining specific recommendations for state and federal
election reform. This report is available and I commend it to the members of this
Committee.
As a member of the Carter-Baker Commission testifying before this
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Committee, I have included a copy of the report with my prepared remarks and submit it
for the record.
The U.S. Supreme Court has said, “Free and honest elections are the very foundation of
our republican form of government. Hence any attempt to defile the sanctity of the ballot
cannot be viewed with equanimity. And it must be remembered that the right of suffrage
can be denied by debasement or dilution of the weight of a citizen’s vote just as
effectively as by wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise.”
The Carter-Baker Commission made two recommendations that address these concerns.
Specifically, the Commission recommended that states require voters to present a
government-issued photo ID in order to vote. This recommendation is intended to assure
voters that the only ballots cast were those cast by lawful voters who cast only one ballot.
To assure that the requirement of providing identification does not prevent any eligible
voter from participating in an election we called upon states to provide the necessary
photo ID free of charge to all voters and to make the ID accessible to all.
The
requirement of photo ID combined with accurate and current state-wide voter rolls will
prevent most opportunities for vote fraud and will increase voters’ confidence in the
outcome of the election.
Some have mistakenly suggested that requiring voters to use a photo ID will be a poll tax.
It is nothing of the sort. The vast majority of citizens already have a form of the required
photo ID. Others should be able to easily obtain the ID. States should take steps to
assure the opportunity of all voters to obtain an ID.
My colleague on the Commission, former Democrat Congressman Lee Hamilton, has
noted that this recommendation of Photo ID will increase the confidence of voters,
especially minorities and low income voters, to participate in the election with confidence
and that they will be allowed to vote. In our post 9-11 society where ID is required to
enter a federal building, to cash a check or board a plane it is good public policy to
provide photo ID free to low income and minority persons. It is also good public policy
to safeguard our election with the requirement of photo ID.
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A comprehensive report prepared by the American Center for Voting Rights documented
the unacceptable number of incidents of violence and intimidation directed at voters and
volunteers seeking to prevent them from participating in the election as well as examples
of vote fraud that disenfranchised those who legally cast a ballot.
Mr. Chairman, I encourage you to consider the recommendations of the Carter-Baker
Commission and specifically the common sense recommendation of requiring voters to
present a photo ID and working to assure that all voters have ability to obtain an ID
without cost. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
answer any questions.
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I would be happy to