Rick Allen: “I understand that this bill does allow localities that have upgraded voting equipment in the past two years to be…”

“I understand that this bill does allow localities that have upgraded voting equipment in the past two years to be reimbursed retroactively, and I support this decision. We ought to reward, rather than penalize, those States and localities that have aggressively moved ahead since November 2000 to improve the processes and procedures for voting and elections. In Sections 261-263, having to do with payments to States and units of local government to assure accessibility for individuals with disabilities, however, it is not clear whether the payments made may be made retroactively, and this concerns me. I expect that this was the intent. This is important, however, because in Virginia, and, I believe in several other States such as North Carolina and Rhode Island, the State Board of Elections and the localities have made a concerted effort to improve polling place accessibility over the past two years. And I believe that for this November's elections Virginia will be very close to 100 percent of all polling places being 100 percent accessible.”