"Will Everyone's Vote Get Counted? Electronic Voting and Election Reform in New Jersey and the Nation" is the subject of a public symposium and discussion, Monday, April 26, 7:30 p.m., Bowl 16, Woodrow Wilson School's Robertson Hall. Sponsored by the Sandra Starr Foundation and featuring Rep. Rush Holt, the event is free and open to the public.

The reliability of electronic voting machines, denial of voting rights, and other problems with elections will be discussed by Holt and other political process experts, including Ingrid Reed, director of the Eagleton New Jersey Project at Rutgers University; Lionel Leach, director of the National Voter Project of the NAACP; Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, as well as others well versed in the technical and legal aspects of the voting process.

To help remedy the problems highlighted in the 2000 election in Florida, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002. But new questions have arisen about electronic voting machines and the potential they create for rigged elections.

Since 2000, Holt has made restoring the integrity of elections a major focus of his work in Congress. Last year he introduced "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act," which would require electronic voting machines to generate a "voter-verified paper trail." The paper ballot tally could be used to validate an election in the event of faulty equipment or a demand for a recount. Some electronic machines now in use make any recount impossible if the machines malfunction. Reed, who has written numerous reports about New Jersey issues, including election reform, will discuss the management of elections in the state and the need for a variety of reforms. Leach will address the issues as they affect the voting rights of African-Americans and other minorities, and Hughes will speak about how Mercer County is handling elections.

The event is part of a conference series established by the Sandra Starr Foundation, a private non-profit charitable organization that seeks to support the improvement of community life and development of progressive community leadership in the Princeton-Mercer County area. The foundation was created in honor of the late Princeton Borough councilwoman and community activist Sandra Starr, whose hope for the foundation was that it would encourage more people to become involved in community leadership and the democratic process. For more information on the Voting Reform Conference, Monday, April 26, 7:30 p.m., Woodrow Wilson School, or the Sandra Starr Foundation, please visit www.sandrastarr.org or e-mail the Princeton University Office of Community and State Affairs, the co-sponsor of the event: pucsa@princeton.edu.