Will Your vote count in 2008?

[The A Team]

H.R. 811: Our Best Hope For Election Integrity By 2008

Few people would argue that one of the most pressing problems facing American democracy today is the questionable integrity of our elections. Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) has introduced the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 811) to help repair our broken electoral system.

Unfortunately, as reported in the New York Times1, forces in the Congress are moving to gut the Holt bill's reforms and delay imperative voting reforms until 2012.

If passed in its current form without modifications, H.R. 811 will prevent the use of paperless electronic voting machines and will require audits to check the accuracy of the vote counts for federal elections. The bill includes security provisions that ban Internet connections for voting machines, as well as for systems that tabulate the votes on election night. It also makes the paper ballot the official record in audits and recounts, and requires election officials to post a notice explaining to voters the need to verify their vote.

This bill has over 200 bi-partisan co-sponsors, and represents our best hope for establishing a voter-verified paper record in time for the 2008 elections. However, the bill has been hung up in the House and is being modified to allow for the continued deployment of "tiny, cash-register-style printers" of the sort infamous for losing 10 percent of the ballots in Cuyahoga County, Ohio in 2006. This is a step in the wrong direction.

The version of H.R. 811 that was reported out of committee in May, would have immediately halted the further deployment of such substandard equipment, while still requiring full auditability and accessibility in 2008 in paperless jurisdictions, and requiring the already-papered jurisdictions (those using touch screens with printers) to upgrade their auditability and accessibililty by 2010.

Voting system reform cannot be delayed any longer. Tell your representative to demand that H.R. 811 be brought to the House floor -- as reported out of committee in May -- for a full vote and vote YES on this bill.


To contact your Congressperson got to :
https://actforchange.workingassets.com/


1Overhaul Plan for Vote System Will Be Delayed, New York Times July 20, 2007.

[OrchardDweller]

Agreement Reached to Move Holt Election Reform Bill
https://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/s...4634433&EDATE=

PFAW: Best chance to give voters paper trails, confidence in voting in
2008 and beyond

WASHINGTON, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey announced a compromise that will advance H.R. 811, the "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility
Act of 2007." The bill bans paperless voting machines and requires a
voter-verified paper record for every vote in the country.

"Today's announcement gives Americans renewed hope that Congress will soon put an end to unaccountable, unverifiable, and inaccessible voting," said Ralph G. Neas, president of People For the American Way. "Millions of voters were disenfranchised in recent elections, and millions of others have wondered if their votes were correctly counted. That is intolerable. Given how much is at stake in the coming elections, passing this legislation should be the nation's top domestic legislative priority."

The Hoyer-Holt compromise to H.R. 811:

-- Ensures that by the 2008 presidential elections there will be a
paper record for all votes cast in federal elections, and makes the paper
ballot the ballot of record for purposes of a recount;

-- Institutes a system of mandatory random audits;

-- Prohibits wireless devices in voting machines;

-- Makes voting system "source code" -- the software that runs the
voting machine -- subject to examination should discrepancies arise;

-- Provides for emergency paper ballots should voting machines break
down or fail in any way.

-- Mandates upgrades to provide durable paper records and enhanced
accessible technology by 2012.

Neas praised the tenacious efforts of Majority Leader Hoyer,
Representative Holt, and members of a diverse coalition to reach a
compromise that achieves all those essential goals, and noted that the
legislation includes requirements to ensure accessibility as well as
accuracy and reliability, a provision that has garnered a letter of
appreciation from the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities.

Neas also noted that the compromise addresses some concerns raised bylocal election officials about having sufficient time and resources to
comply with new requirements. The bill authorizes over $1 billion to offset
anticipated costs to state and local governments. It also provides a
reasonable fix for election officials so they are not forced to purchase
all new technology by November 2008, while still providing voters with the
ability to verify their votes. Election officials will have the option to
upgrade their DREs to include verifiable paper records as in interim step
or use optical scan voting systems.

"The status quo is unacceptable, and maintaining the status quo in 2008
with this fair and practical solution before us would be inexcusable," Neas
said. "We urge Members of Congress to recognize the 'urgency of now' and
call for swift bipartisan approval in the House of Representatives."

[OrchardDweller]

Watch this video: Voter Fraud is Easy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qo-rNrigqY

Notice that there is a so called "paper trail" that is absolutely useless.
These machines are going to be used in the Iowa Straw Pole this Saturday. Let's see, is there anyone on the ballot that certain people wouldn't want to see do well..?

[OrchardDweller]

August 15, 2007

We The People Foundation Takes Action Against Vote Fraud
Diebold Vote Machines Fail In Iowa
https://www.wethepeoplefoundation.or...2007-08-15.htm