APPENDIX B
Principles of the Election Process in the United States
NCSL Elections Reform Task Force
Adopted June 9, 2001
Denver, Colorado
- The right to vote is perhaps the most basic and fundamental of all the rights guaranteed by our democratic form of government. Implicit in that right is the right to have one's vote count and the right to have as nearly perfect an election proceeding as can be provided.
- Administering the election process is the responsibility of the individual states.
- Voting methods for elections should be fair, reliable, and ensure the equal protection of voting opportunity.
4. Every citizen deserves an easy, open, understandable avenue to vote.
- No jurisdiction should use voter rolls in any manner which will discourage citizens from registering to vote.
- In those states where registration is required,
- voter registration is voluntary; and
- each citizen has a responsibility to comply with reasonable administrative requirements established by the state of his or her residence.
5. Voting is the voluntary act of a single individual expressing his or her belief in a representative democracy.
- Every eligible voter should have the opportunity to vote.
- Every vote must count.
- Voting should be a simple, convenient, and user-friendly process that encourages each citizen to express his or her choices.
- Voters deserve open, barrier-free access to the polls.
- Voting systems should be chosen to:
i. allow voters to clearly and easily express their vote; and
ii. accurately record such votes.
- States which use different voting systems in different jurisdictions should strive to minimize the disparate impacts of those systems.
6. While voting should be individual and private, procedures for counting and challenging votes should be open, transparent, and easily documented to ensure public confidence in the results.
- The processes for counting and recounting ballots in an election must be governed by uniform standards.
- States should clearly define what constitutes a vote.
7. Election officials are fiduciaries of the citizens, and should exercise their duties in such a manner as to increase voter understanding of and confidence in the election process.
- Criminal conduct by election officials diminishes participation and voter confidence in elections, and should be vigorously prosecuted and severely penalized.
- Poll workers are critical to an efficient, secure, and reliable election process. Properly trained poll workers clearly improve the reliability and fairness of the election process.
10. Voter education should be designed to encourage voter participation and to ensure that voters are ready and able to vote in elections. The higher degree of voter education conducted by election officials, the more successful and reliable are the election results. Voter education is the responsibility of the controlling jurisdiction for elections. The state must play a role in funding, defining the scope and ensuring the efficacy of voter education, thereby assuring its citizens of a free, fair, and open election process.
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