Senator Bill Stephens is a man of his word. Unlike many politicians and political figures, he doesn’t just talk the talk and make empty promises. He leads the way and pursues what’s right no matter the consequences. As Senate Majority Leader, he was the first to propose the Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Last summer, Stephens was the only public figure to challenge Jesse Jackson to a debate over Georgia’s voter photo I.D. law. Finally, last week, Stephens kept another promise he made to Georgians last fall.

On Friday, Sen. Stephens stood with Governor Sonny Perdue as he signed Senate Bill 500 into law, creating one of the nation’s first pilot programs to test implementation of paper audit trail technology on electronic voting machines.

Friday’s bill signing ceremony for the 2006 Georgia Accuracy in Elections Act was the culmination of a process that began last September when Sen. Stephens first announced his intention to file legislation that would mandate Georgia’s electronic voting machines be backed up by a paper record of each vote cast. Sen. Stephens’ legislation received widespread support throughout the legislative process, receiving only a single “nay” vote out of over 400 individual votes cast in both the House and Senate.

“A safe, secure voting system is the foundation of our democracy. Voters must have the confidence that their vote is counted accurately, every time,” Stephens said at the State Capitol ceremony. “I want to thank Governor Perdue, the General Assembly, and, most importantly, Georgia’s citizens for supporting this important election reform legislation from the very beginning.”

Stephens continued, “I want to issue another promise to voters. As your next Secretary of State, I will continue my work to ensure that Georgia has the most accurate and fair election system in the nation.”