Monday, August 14, 2006

Common Sense Approach to Voting

Secretary of State Candidate Joe Pearson Calls for Election System Reforms

I believe that voting rights are one of the most important aspects of our democracy. Our forefathers fought for the right to vote and made that freedom the very core of our nation.

I am running for Secretary of State to expand and protect the right to vote and ensure that Hoosiers have confidence in our voting systems.

Here’s how we can make a difference:

• Work with national, state and local election officials to determine the feasibility of generating a paper trail after voters cast their ballot. If we can receive a receipt from an ATM, we should be able to have a receipt of casting a vote.
• Save tax dollars by reducing duplicate voting records
• Ensure the accuracy of records that are considered to be duplicates.
• Have meetings of the Help America Vote Act panel across the state.
• Use the expertise of the bipartisan staff of the Indiana Election Division to work with my office on recommendations to enhance the ability of Hoosiers to vote.
• Listen to Hoosiers by hosting town hall style meetings in each Indiana county to determine how we can better serve Hoosiers and can provide better election-related services.

I have always believed that our voting rights must be protected, and I worked to do so during my term as a school board member and as an aide to Governors Bayh, O’Bannon, and Kernan. I know that by addressing the problems and shortcomings of our electoral system we can make a difference in Indiana. It will be my goal, as Indiana’s next Secretary of State, to make sure that when Hoosiers cast their ballots they will know that their vote will count.

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