We believe that to ensure equal representation and to
restore public faith in our democracy, we must act to curtail the influence of
special interest money on our political process. To help accomplish our goals
of political reform, we call for the complete implementation and the full
funding from general revenues of the Clean Elections System, in a fashion
consistent with voter intent in approving this initiative. We recognize that
aspects of this legislation give rise to legitimate concerns, difficulties, and
differences of opinion and we support continuing efforts to resolve these. We
endorse such proposals as enhance the workability of the System and the
likelihood of candidate participation, and which are consistent with voter
intent. Among these is full public funding for the legitimate costs of serving
constituents as an elected legislator, separate from public funding for the
Clean Elections System and supplanting expenditures that currently must be made
from campaign accounts.
We support federal campaign finance reforms that act to
limit campaign spending, remove the influence of large-donor contributions, end
the soft money system, and create a level playing field for candidates and
voters. We endorse the McCain-Feingold Bill and urge its approval by Congress.
We reaffirm our support for voluntary systems of comprehensive public financing
for qualified candidates paired to campaign spending limits. We support
proposals to increase communication between candidates and voters through
access to free television time, reduced postage rates, and other means that may
be deemed appropriate.
• WeMassachusetts
Democrats believe the right to support a safe, secure, traceable voteing
process as well as a guarantee that every registered voter has the opportunity
to cast a is made meaningful only when joined with access to the ballot
and that all ballots are counted. We note recent events in Florida and
elsewhere that again demonstrate how flawed procedures can result in unjust
discrimination among voters on the basis of race, national origin, age or other
characteristics, and can create needless uncertainty around outcomes. We
strongly support efforts like the Motor Voter law that ease potential barriers
to registration and voting and encourage maximum public participation. We call
on the Commonwealth to make usability by persons with disabilities, senior
citizens, and others a criterion in the purchase of new voting equipment, and
we seek the strongest possible enforcement of existing laws to ensure full and
equal access to the ballot and polling places.
• We believe that all voting systems must employ paper ballots as the official
ballot, regardless of how the ballots are counted, and that all cast paper
ballots be securely stored and available for recount purposes as currently
required by Massachusetts law.
• We believe the Secretary of State should develop a certification system to
insure security of all electronic voting systems used in the Commonwealth. Once
this system is developed, any municipality employing such electronic systems
will be required to obtain certification prior to each election.
• We believe the Secretary of State should provide training programs for all
election workers, offered throughout the Commonwealth, and that all election
workers, will be required to successfully complete such training prior to
appointment, and to meet recertification requirements.
We support efforts to ensure the most accurate possible
count of all Americans through the decennial Census. We believe that these data
are critical to the fair and representative distribution of Congressional and
Legislative districts, and to appropriate apportionment of government benefits
and responsibilities among the states of the nation and the communities of the
Commonwealth. We oppose attempts in Congress to replace actuarial methods
advocated by non-partisan professionals of the U.S. Census Bureau with calculations
based on political party advantage.
Developed by Brad Johnson (Boston Ward 4). Presented as a service for the 2005 Massachusetts Democratic Convention by Democracy for America: Boston.