Read this http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.3910. You’re going to love it.

WWW- In a move that some people found amazing and others expected, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) [pictured] has filed a new elections bill. HR-3910 – Verifying the Outcome of Tomorrow’s Elections Act of 2005 does nothing to verify the outcome of “tomorrow’s” elections, but it does further the RNC’s wish to keep as many poor, elderly, disabled, and people of color (in other words – normally Democratic voters) away from the polls as they possibly can.

And who is this Rep. Feeney? If you recall, he was the person alleged to have asked for a programmer to write software to switch the touch-screen votes, undetected, in Florida. Clint Curtis, whose story was originally broken here at BRAD BLOG, was the programmer. When asked about this latest step by Feeney, he responded via email simply: “Appears that Mr. Feeney is still trying to protect his fixed voting system”.

Around the water coolers on “The Hill”, there has been talk that Rush Holt’s Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (HR 550) would be going to mark-up sometime in October. It is timely that suddenly Rep. Feeney would produce a bill that will now allow the House leaders to blend the two bills and make one bill that represents their view of privatization of elections.

This bill provides for a voter verified paper audit trail but it leaves to the states how that audit trail will be used, if at all. No verification there.

The outrageous portion of the bill is the part that discusses a voter ID requirement. No driver’s license, state ID card, student ID, library card or utility bill will do, according to this bill. Instead, in order to qualify, a voter will require:(2) MINIMUM DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS- To meet the requirements of this subsection, a State shall include, at a minimum, the following information and features on each photo identification issued to a person by the State for purposes of subsection (b):

(A) The person’s full legal name.

(B) The person’s date of birth.

(C) The person’s gender.

(D) The person’s number for the form of the identification.

(E) A digital photograph of the person.

(F) The person’s address of principle residence.

(G) The person’s signature.

(H) Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes.

(I) A common machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements.

(3) MINIMUM ISSUANCE STANDARDS

(A) IN GENERAL- To meet the requirements of this subsection, a State shall require, at a minimum, presentation and verification of the following information before issuing a photo identification to a person for purposes of subsection (b):

(i) A photo identity document, except that a non-photo identity document is acceptable if it includes both the person’s full legal name and date of birth.

(ii) Documentation showing the person’s date of birth.

(iii) Proof of the person’s social security account number or verification that the person is not eligible for a social security account number.

(iv) Documentation showing the person’s name and address of principal residence.

And what if the voter is an absentee voter? According to this bill they will have to include a copy of their ID, with SSN and address and personal information, in the envelope along with their ballot.

Last week, in response to the unbelievably poor Baker-Carter Commission report, and the rumors in DC that HR-550 may be going for ‘mark-up’, VoteTrustUSA and other groups began a write-in campaign asking members of congress to leave HR-550 untouched. This seems to be the best approach at this time.