 |
| (They, the politicians and pundits)
|
|
| BUSH: "The fairness of all elections...is a
national priority. State and local officials are being
encouraged to conduct elections in a manner that instills
confidence." |
| • |
| KERRY: "We need a system where every vote is
counted and where we can verify that every vote was in fact
counted. That is what is absolutely critical." |
| • |
"The L.W.V.U.S. supports the implementation of voting
systems and procedures that are secure, accurate, recountable,
and accessible."
League of Women Voters in new language
adopted in 2004 |
| • |
"An individual paper confirmation for each ballot would
undermine disability access requirements, raise costs and slow
down the purchase or lease of machines that might be used to
replace machines that don't work."
League of Women
Voters in language adopted in 2002 and rescinded in 2004
|
|
Over 30% of voters will use electronic machines this
election (see chart below). Another third will
use Optical systems. Lever systems account for about
14% and punch cards will be used by 12.3%. Other
systems account for the last 9.3%.
According to
Election Data Services |
| |
|
U. S. Voting Systems |
 |
|
"I'm insisting, quite unapologetically, on the need to
have these appropriate security measures in place to protect
the voters."
Kevin Shelley, California Secretary of
State who banned and decertified touch- screen voting machines
|
| • |
| "(When) voters were still using the punchcard system, the
overvote / undervote rate was 7%, meaning that some 60,485
votes in various races were not counted. But ... the
overvote/undervote rate in Alameda County using a new
touch-screen system nearly identical to the system here was a
mere point seven percent." San Diego Union-Tribune
|
| • |
"In one exercise conducted for Maryland, computer
researchers showed that, with hand-held computers and quick
fingers, they could open the touch screen machines and even
reprogram them to make votes for one candidate count for
another."
New York Times |
| • |
"On a spectrum of terrible to very good, we are sitting at
terrible."
Aviel Rubin, Technical Director of
Information, Security Institute at John Hopkins Univ. and
co-author of an analysis of touch-screen voting machines in
Maryland. |
| • |
"The model where individual vendors write proprietary code
to run our elections appears to be unreliable. And if
we do not change the process of designing our voting systems,
we will have no confidence that our election results will
reflect the will of the electorate."
Analysis of
Electronic Voting Systems, co-authored by Aviel D. Rubin, Adam
Stubblefield, Todayoshi Kahno and Dan S. Wallach |
| • |
"The Risk Assessment has identified several high-risk
vulnerabilities in the implementation of the managerial,
operational and technical controls for AccuVote-TS voting
system. If these vulnerabilities are exploited,
significant impact could occur on the accuracy, integrity and
availability of election results."
Science Applications
International Corporation, hired by the state of Maryland to
independently review the above-mentioned analysis. |
| • |
"It is unfortunate that the John Hopkins researchers did
not involve us or the election community in their analysis,
including the Federal Election Commission which sets standards
that all election processes must follow."
Statement
from Diebold, company that makes the AccuVote-TS |
| • |
"I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral
votes for the President."
Walden (Wally) O'Dell,
Diebold CEO and Bush "ranger" until the conflict of interest
forced him to quit soliciting campaign contributions.
|
| • |
"Today over two-thirds of the states have adopted the
standards in whole or in part. As a result, the voting
systems marketed today are dramatically improved."
Federal Election Commission |
| |
 |
| |
"Do not be misled into believing that elections are
reliant upon technology which can be manipulated. The real
question (is) whether there are sufficient and proper
safeguards to make it highly improbable. And the answer
to that is yes. It may be possible to do many things
but like time travel - which is theoretically possible - it is
highly unlikely at this time."
The Election Center, a
non-profit organization of government employees involved in
elections |
| • |
"I think we can make it through November without feeling
like our pants are down."
DeForest "Buster" Soaries,
Chairman of the Election Assistance Commission which was
formed but never funded in the Help America Vote Act
|
| • |
"Nothing else matters if we have no vote."
Susan
Marie Weber, Chair of the Desert Area Libertarians who filed
suit against the use of touch-screen machines in California
|
| • |
"The state's interest in easy, attractive voting machines
which might increase voter turnout outweighed the voters'
interest in verifiable results."
Judge Stephen V.
Wilson ruling against Weber in 2002 |
| • |
"Worst Technology of 2003"
Fortune Magazine
|
| • |
"Take it from me. Every vote counts."
Al
Gore |
| | | |
|
 |
| (We, the people) |
|
"Without a paper ballot, there would be no recounts, and
the ability to defraud the voters is high."
Paul H.
Derry, New Hampshire |
| • |
"I consider my party affiliation to be strongly
independent; during my voting life I have voted for Democrats
and Republicans. I care about the integrity of the
voting process, not the winner. I strongly support
allowing voters in EVERY state to verify and review their
choices."
Sharon
Atlanta, Georgia |
| • |
"Electronic voting machines were constructed by other
people who, of course, are voters — voters who I'm more than
sure have their own ideas of what's right or what issues are
more important to them. And how important that issue
will affect their own personal situation. So who's to
say that the same mind that created and implemented these
machines aren't somehow able to also directly influence the
outcome of the 'numbers.' Now who is going to reassure
me that these machines are absolutely 100 per cent problem
free? You can't, so I need my proof of what I decided
in writing please."
L. B.
Houston, Texas |
| • |
"And people think on-line shopping is risky!"
M. T.
H.
Akron, Ohio |
| • |
"Georgia was the first state to go all electronic.
It's also one of the few states which has no paper trail, nor
any plans for one. Is it a coincidence that, in 2002,
the first time we used this new system, both our incumbent
Democratic governor and Senator were defeated? In
surprise results? Just because it's paranoid doesn't
mean it's not true."
Patty
Norcross, Georgia
|
| • |
"When India has a better standardized voting system than
the U.S., we know that we lack such a system by design.
Where is the press coverage of this issue? Where is the
public outrage?"
E. B. S.
Atlanta, Georgia
|
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VOTER
VERIFICATION
ACTS |
| |
| How important is legislation that would require
electronic voting machines to produce a duplicate paper ballot which
can be used for recounts?
|
| |
|
Proponents say the very integrity of the vote, our most
basic right, is at stake. Legislation is essential to ensure
that our elections remain above reproach. |
|
|
Opponents say technology is the way of the future.
We already rely on it to manage everything from money to medicine.
Voting is just the next step. |
|
| Tell Congress what the people say. Vote or
submit a comment now. | |
|
 |
ELECTRONIC VOTING
MACHINE REFORM
|
|
| |
The Help America Vote Act was designed to fix the fumbles of the
2000 Presidential election. In the process, it awarded
millions to States and municipalities which upgraded voting
technologies. However, they never set any basic standards for
these voting systems. Of particular concern are touch-screen
voting machines — aka Direct-Record Electronic (DRE) voting systems
— in which all voting information is stored digitally inside the
machine.
In the current Congress, at least half a dozen bills have been
introduced to require a paper trail and/or increase the security of
these machines. In May, 2003, Congressman Rush D. Holt (D-NJ)
introduced the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of
2003 (HR2239). This bill mandates that electronic voting
machines also provide a paper record the voter can review and
approve and that can also be used as a back-up for audits and
recounts. It must be made available whenever electronic voting
systems are used. The law would also prohibit unauthorized
software patches, sharing of the source code, and wireless
capabilities and for the first time requires certification of voting
machines. (Certification is currently at the State's
discretion.) Furthermore, it requires random recount audits
on half of one percent of all machines used in each election.
A virtually identical bill was introduced in the senate by
Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) several months later (S1980). That
same day, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced another version
called the Protecting American Democracy Act (S1986). It also
called for higher security and voter verification but did not
mandate a paper trail. It also adds $4 million in funding.
Two months later, in February, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
introduced the Secure and Verifiable Electronic Voting Act or SAVE
Voting Act (S2045). This bill rolls all the ideas together,
requiring a paper trail with detailed security measures in regard to
software, code, wireless capabilities, and spot- check recounts.
It went on to set higher standards for the manufacture of
voting systems. These requirements were also to be implemented
before the 2004 elections.
All these efforts were "referred to committee" (Congressional
speak for "went nowhere") and three more months passed. Then
Senator John Ensign (R-NV) became the first Republican sponsor with
his Voting Integrity and Verification Act (S2437). This
legislation simplifies the goal and only requires a back-up paper
ballot verified by the voter and available for recount.
Meanwhile, back in the House, Congressman Steve King (R-IA)
introduces the Know Your Vote Counts Act which calls for — guess
what? — "an auditable paper record showing how the vote will be
recorded by the system." Both these Republican bills have also been
"referred to committee."
Obviously, this is a bipartisan issue so maybe Obviously, this is
a bipartisan issue so maybe — just maybe — it's business Congress
could actually take care of even though it is an election year.
Is it important enough for us to insist? You tell us
and we'll tell your representatives. How important is it to
amend the Helping America Vote Act? |
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