Or...



Nothing like having an argument on how high is up... It is People for the American Way vs BradBlog.

Huffington Post

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/043007N.shtml

Time to Outlaw Paperless Electronic Voting By David L. Dill
t r u t h o u t | Guest Contributor

Monday 30 April 2007

Four years ago, when I began publicly opposing paperless electronic voting, passing a federal law to require voter-verified paper records (VVPRs) seemed an impossible dream. Rep. Rush Holt (D-New Jersey) introduced such a bill in 2003, and another in 2005, but both bills languished in committee until the clock ran out.

The dream is now achievable, due in part to the unending stream of problems caused by paperless voting machines in recent years. HR 811, the third incarnation of the Holt bill, is a critical measure. It's needed to protect the integrity of our elections, and it has very good prospects of being enacted. It already has 210 co-sponsors in the House, where only 218 votes are required to pass it.

Two provisions in HR 811 are especially vital for restoring trust in American elections: A nationwide requirement for voter-verified paper records, and stringent, random manual counts of those records, to make sure they agree with the announced vote totals. The requirements in the Holt bill are superior to those in almost every state of the country (there are now 22 states with significant amounts of paperless electronic voting, and only 13 states require random audits of VVPRs).

Success is not assured, however. The forces that have blocked previous bills are still active, especially vendors of current poorly performing equipment. Also, various concerns, reasonable and otherwise, have been raised about the bill by other parties.

Some groups insist on optical scan machines, which read and count hand-marked paper ballots, and are not supporting HR 811 because it still allows the use of touch-screen machines. However, under HR 811, those machines must be equipped with so-called voter-verifiable paper trails, which print a paper copy of the vote that can be reviewed by the voter before being cast. Most of the current generation of inferior paper-trail machines would not be allowed under HR 811, which requires the machines to preserve the privacy of voters and requires the VVPRs to be printed on high-quality paper. This will create a strong incentive for local jurisdictions to purchase optical scan equipment. Furthermore, HR 811 makes the paper records the official ballots of record in audits and recounts, and requires election officials to post a notice explaining to voters the need to verify their VVPRs.

In New York state, vendors are trying an end run around the 'paper trail'. They are installing machines that have not been approved for the school election in Troy NY.

Yes, the love of money IS the root of all evil...

Thanks for the links dori. I hope everyone sends a petition. This is the most important issue of our time. Without honest elections, nothing else matters.

It doesn't matter if you vote or not- It only matters if you count the votes or not, and who's counting them!

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1115-24.htm

Got to get the ones counting the votes to be honest with neutral observers from other countries, like we do in other countries to prove that we have been honest with our banana republic- sorry- DEMOCKERY. Since you can't confirm a machines accuracy, it should be a priority that these tabulating systems are accountable by independant neutral observers or complete elimination of these programmable machines.

Perhaps honesty in politics will raise its head if we get rid of these items and then concentrate on getting lobbying made illegal and public funded Presidential races/convention nominations to attract a better class of intelligent politician than the lying scum mafiosa types we elect now.

I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish.

Unfortunately, I don't have ruby slippers to click together..

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051007A.shtml

Congress Takes One Step Forward on Verifiable Voting By Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t | Report

Thursday 10 May 2007

Legislation aimed at overhauling how people vote moved out of a Congressional committee Tuesday. The bill is intended to address problems that have hamstrung recent national elections.

US House Resolution 811 was drafted by Rep. Rush Holt (D-New Jersey) and has 212 current cosponsors. The bill was passed with two amendments by the Committee on House Administration. According to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, it's on a fast track to be voted on by the full House.

Interesting article. Pros and cons.

2008 is not far away!

Also: CNET News

All U.S. voting systems would be required to produce or make use of verifiable paper ballots in time for the next presidential election under a bill approved this week by a House of Representatives panel.

By a 6-3 vote along party lines, the House Administration Committee on Tuesday afternoon approved an amended version (PDF) of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, chiefly sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and backed by 212 other members of Congress.

Aside from the paper trail requirement, the bill also imposes a number of new security obligations, such as a general ban on any wireless technology in the machines and on connecting devices used to record or tabulate ballots to the Internet. In addition, only equipment preapproved by accredited test laboratories would be eligible for use in federal elections--a move aimed at keeping potentially flawed software from being slipped in at the last minute.

All voting precincts nationwide would generally have to conform to the new requirements in time for the general federal election in November 2008 and for each subsequent election. The bill sets aside an extra $1 billion--more than triple the amount proposed in the original bill--to distribute to states in the 2007 fiscal year to help them make their systems compliant.

State Officials' Opposition Could Jeopardize Voting "Paper Trail" Measure
By Kathleen Hunter
Congressional Quarterly

Thursday 06 September 2007

Strong opposition from state and local officials is threatening to derail an election-machine bill originally slated to come to the House floor Thursday.

The bill (HR 811), sponsored by Rush D. Holt, D-N.J., would require a voter-verified paper record for every vote cast nationwide beginning in 2008. It also would mandate routine random audits in most federal races and would designate paper ballots as the ballots of record for audits or recounts.

State and local officials have raised serious concerns about the bill, which the House Administration Committee approved May 8 on a 6-3 party-line vote.

After all the work to get the bill to the floor...

."

Isn't that strange...I go to my ATM and draw out money. A little paper comes out telling me how much I withdrew and how much I have left in my account. It's called a RECEIPT! This kind of technology is available to BANKS and businesses throughout the country. They are used everyday by more people than ever turn out to vote!

Yet, it's unnecessary to make sure the election process in this country can be monitored? What a moronic idea!

That struck me as pretty darn silly--but that also is the 'reasoning' given me by the Election Board when ever I contact them. EVERYTHING is too expensive in their eyes. I think they would love to not have us vote at all.