Immediate and urgent action required to stop the Congressional push for a new federally mandated electoral train wreck. The Democratic majority in Congress is pushing complex, expensive, and unfunded legislation under the flag of election reform, but they are severely misguided in their support of HR 811, also known as the Holt Bill. Contact your Congressional representatives and the members of the House Administration Committee (listed below) TODAY and tell them to stop pushing passage of this bill.

Hodes FAX: 202.225.2946

Shea Porter FAX: 202.225.5822

HR 811 contains many dangerous provisions that, if implemented, will subvert our democratic processes and our ability to have citizen oversight over our elections:

• Huge unfunded mandate will send our cities and towns deeply into debt
• Mandates nonexistent, untested and uncertified equipment for use in the 2008 elections
• Centralizes electoral regulation and control, giving unprecedented and undemocratic power to the White House over nation's elections

The House Administration (full committee) is planning to markup Rep. Holt’s Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 (HR. 811) on Thursday, March 29th at 10am.

Address your faxes of opposition to the House Administration and fax them today so they can be inserted in the Record. The fax numbers for the committee are listed below.

Members of the Committee on House Administration

Democrats – Fax Number 202-225-7664

Republicans – Fax Number – 202-225-9957

• Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, CA-37,
  Chairwoman
• Rep. Vernon Ehlers, MI-3,
  Ranking Member
• Rep. Robert A. Brady, PA-1st
• Rep. Dan Lungren, CA-3
• Rep. Zoe Lofgren, CA-16th
• Rep. Kevin McCarthy, CA-22
• Rep. Mike Capuano, MA-8
• Rep. Charles Gonzalez, TX-20
• Rep. Susan Davis, CA-53

Please try to send concise bulleted statements. Focus on:

• The unfunded mandate
• The centralized executive power ("it may not be your party controlling the elections - are you really ready to hand over that control to the opposition?")
• The matter of mandated equipment that does not yet exist and will not be tested or certified by the bill's 2008 target date
• Reference the opposition of all state and local election officials to this legislation because it is expensive and unworkable.

REFERENCES:

Nancy Tobi podcast interview with Bob Fitrakis of Ohio's FreePress,org: (Why mandated equipment in Holt does not exist and will not exist in time for their mandated 2008 timeline and what this means to the nation)

Why the Election Assistance Commission must be abolished: Centralized executive power and bloodless coups

What's wrong with the NEW Holt Bill (HR 811)? (13 bulleted points)

National Association of Counties and National Conference of State Legislatures urge Congress to oppose federal election reform (why state and local election officials and legislators oppose the bill)

NASS Approach to Federal Legislation (why top state election officials oppose Holt)