mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. speaker , my motion to recommit would simply require that each state provide a minimum required number of functioning and accurate voting machines and poll workers for each precinct on the day of any special election . 
i do this and offer the amendment so that we can avoid the misallocation of voting machines and poll workers that occurred last year in the ohio presidential election that led to lines of sometimes 10 hours and disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of voters . 
consider the following : in franklin county in that state , 27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for bush while six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered the large margins for kerry . 
they also found that election officials in franklin county decided to make due with 2 , 868 machines even though their analysis showed that 5 , 000 machines were needed . 
in columbus alone it is estimated that the misallocation of machines reduced the number of votes by up to 15 , 000 votes . 
there is also an investigation that revealed the franklin county election officials reduced the number of election voting machines assigned to downtown precincts and added them to suburbs . 
they used a formula based not on the number of registered voters but on past turnout . 
in the columbus area , the result was that suburban precincts that supported mr. bush tended to have more machines per registered voter than those in the inner-city precincts that supported mr. kerry . 
the election protection coalition testified that more than half the complaints about the long lines they received came from columbus and cleveland where a huge proportion of the state 's democratic voters lived . 
this should never happen again in an election in our nation . 
it is unconscionable to stack the deck so that americans are forced to wait in the rain in line while others are given the red carpet treatment . 
mr. speaker , i yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from california ( ms. waters ) xz4004220 . 
