KNOW IF YOUR VOTE IS PROPERLY COUNTED

[Guest guest]

Please call your legislators in support of Congressman

Holt's Voter

Accountability Act.

 

<A

HREF= " http://holt.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=5996 " >Click

here: Congressman

Rush Holt Website</A>

http://holt.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=5996

 

 

ON ELECTION DAY 2004, HOW WILL YOU KNOW IF YOUR VOTE IS

PROPERLY COUNTED?

ANSWER: YOU WONT

Rep. Rush Holt Introduces Legislation to Require All Voting Machines

To

Produce A Voter-Verified Paper Trail

 

Washington, DC Rep. Rush Holt today responded to the

growing chorus of

concern from election reform specialists and computer security

experts about the integrity of future elections by introducing reform

legislation, The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of

2003. The measure would require all voting machines to produce an actual

paper record by 2004 that voters can view to check the accuracy of their

votes and that election officials can use to verify votes in the event of

a computer malfunction, hacking, or other irregularity. Experts

often refer to this paper record as a voter-verified paper trail.

 

We cannot afford nor can we permit another major assault on the

integrity of

the American electoral process,†said Rep. Rush Holt.

Imagine it's

Election Day 2004. You enter your local polling place and go to cast

your vote on a brand new 'touch screen' voting machine. The screen says

your vote has been counted. As you exit the voting booth, however,

you begin to wonder. How do I know if the machine actually recorded

my vote? The fact is, you don't.

 

Last October, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA),

 

groundbreaking election reform legislation that is currently helping

states throughout the country replace antiquated and unreliable punch

card and butterfly ballot voting systems. HAVA, however, is having

an unintended consequence. It is fueling a rush by states and

localities to purchase computer-voting systems that suffer from a serious

flaw; voters and election officials have no way of knowing whether the

computers are counting votes properly. Hundreds of nationally

renowned computer scientists, including internationally renowned expert

David Dill of Stanford University, consider a voter-verified paper trial

to be a critical safeguard for the accuracy, integrity and security of

computer-assisted elections.

 

" Voting should not be an act of blind faith. It should be

an act of

record, " said Rep Rush Holt. " But current law does nothing

to protect the integrity of our elections against computer malfunction,

computer hackers, or any other potential irregularities. "

 

There have already been several examples of computer error in

elections. In

the 2002 election, brand new computer voting systems used in Florida

lost over 100,000 votes due to a software error. Errors and

irregularities were also reported in New Jersey, Missouri, Georgia,

Texas, and at least 10 other states.

 

" A recount requires that there be a reliable record to

check, " said Holt.

" Without an actual paper record that each voter can

confidentially inspect,

faulty or hacked computer systems will simply spit out the same

faulty or hacked result. Every vote in every election matters. We

can and should do this in time for the 2004 federal

election. "

 

Key provisions of The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility

Act of

2003 include:

 

1) Requires all voting systems to

produce a voter-verified paper record

for use in manual audits and recounts. For those using the

increasingly

popular ATM-like " DRE " (Direct Recording Electronic)

machines, this requirement means the DRE would print a receipt that each

voter would verify as accurate and deposit into a lockbox for later use

in a recount. States would have until November 2003 to request

additional funds to meet this requirement.

 

2) Bans the use of undisclosed

software and wireless communications

devices in voting systems.

 

3) Requires all voting systems to meet

these requirements in time for

the general election in November 2004. Jurisdictions that feel

their new

computer systems may not be able to meet this deadline may use an

existing paper system as an interim measure (at federal expense) in the

November 2004 election.

 

4) Requires that electronic voting

system be provided for persons with

disabilities by January 1, 2006 -- one year earlier than currently

required by

HAVA. Like the voting machines for non-disabled voters, those

used by

disabled voters must also provide a mechanism for

voter-verification, though not necessarily a paper trail.

Jurisdictions unable to meet this requirement by the deadline must give

disabled voters the option to use the interim paper system with the

assistance of an aide of their choosing.

 

5) Requires mandatory surprise

recounts in 0.5% of domestic

jurisdictions and 0.5% of overseas jurisdictions.

 

******

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