DNC meeting on Election Reform "wet noodle reforms"

from
http://www.ohiohonestelections.org


Wednesday, November 23, 2005

National Democrats A Day Too Late, Again: Many states including Ohio have purchased voting machines paid for by HAVA. The Democratic National Committee provided no guidance to Democratic officials, Boards of Election, legislatures, Democratic activists, the media, on what voting machines should be purchased nor at the very least a list of the pros and cons of each machine. Now, at this late date after states like Ohio have already purchased horrible DRE voting machines, the DNC is prepared to vote on wet noodle election reforms. It is reported that at its December 1, 2005 meeting the DNC will vote on a “Resolution in Support of Election Reform”.

Not much here at all. The DNC Resolutions mostly ask that other officials make decisions and recommendations. The only clear resolution is the one DNC should have made early this year before voting machines were purchased in most states:

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends touch screen (DRE) machines not be used until a reliable voter verifiable audit feature can be uniformly incorporated into these systems and that in the event of a recount, the paper or other auditable record should be considered the official record;”

Still, (or so) I find the news encouraging.

DNC Resolution in Support of Election Reform
November 19th, 2005

http://blog.pdamerica.org/?p=426

The following resolution will be considered by the DNC Resolutions Committee at its meeting on December 1, 2005, in conjunction with the meetings of the Democratic National Committee, December 1-3, 2005.

Submitted by: Donna L. Brazile, At Large/District of Columbia
Hartina Flournoy, At-Large/District of Columbia
Ben Johnson, At Large/District of Columbia
Resolution in Support of Election Reform

WHEREAS, in June, 2005, the Democratic National Committee completed its exhaustive review of the presidential campaign in Ohio; and

WHEREAS, the resulting report, “Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio” documents that more than one quarter of Ohio voters reported problems with their voting experience, and African Americans were more than two times as likely as white voters to claim they encountered problems with their voting experience; and

WHEREAS, this report confirms evidence of widespread voter confusion; voter suppression; negligence and incompetence on the part of election officials; long lines at the polls; improper
requests for voter identification, particularly among young voters and African American voters; the failure to properly process absentee ballots and the improper use of provisional ballots in Ohio on Election Day 2004; and

WHEREAS, evaluations of the administrative processes and technology used by election officials in Ohio revealed that inadequate and insecure voting systems were pervasive throughout Ohio—unreliable punch card systems and insecure, unverifiable direct record electronic (DRE) machines; and

WHEREAS, 71 percent of white voters in Ohio were very confident their vote was counted but only 19 percent of African American voters were confident their votes were counted; and

WHEREAS, the right to vote and to have that vote accurately counted is the bedrock on which our democracy stands and nothing is more fundamental to our freedom than our confidence in the integrity of our democratic institutions; and

WHEREAS, “Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio” makes recommendations for future action by parties, legislators and local election officials to improve future elections;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will continue to work with Members of Congress, lawmakers in all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. Territories, local election officials, and community leaders to update andreform our election laws to ensure that voter confidence in our election system is restored and maintained;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC “Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio” recommends several actions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends states, the District of Columbia and all U. S. Territories codify into law all required election practices, including requirements for the adequate training of official poll workers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommend lawmakers adopt uniform and clear published standards for the distribution of voting equipment and the assignment of official poll workers among precincts, to ensure adequate and nondiscriminatory access, and that these procedures be based on set ratios of numbers of machines and poll workers per number of voters expected to turn out, and should be made available for pub lic comment before being adopted; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends lawmakers adopt legislation to make clear and uniform the rules on voter registration; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends lawmakers and local election officials adopt clear and uniform rules on the use of, and the counting of, provisional ballots, and distribute them for public comment well in advance of each Election Day, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends touch screen (DRE) machines not be used until a reliable voter verifiable audit feature can be uniformly incorporated into these systems and that in the event of a recount, the paper or other auditable record should be
considered the official record; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends remaining punch card systems should be discontinued; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends lawmakers make it easier for college students to vote in the jurisdiction in which their school is located; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends lawmakers develop procedures to ensure that voting is facilitated, without compromising security or privacy, for all eligible voters living overseas; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends lawmakers make voter suppression a criminal offense in all states, the District of Columbia and all U.S. Territories; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends lawmakers and election officials should improve the training of poll workers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC recommends touch screen (DRE) machines not be used until a reliable voter verifiable audit feature can be uniformly incorporated into these systems and that in the event of a recount, the paper or other auditable record should be considered the official record;

Not enough, not by a long shot. It means jack shit to have auditable systems unless audits are actually REQUIRED. Also, there was no mention of the problem of proprietary software, the existence of which is vote theft by definition.

If I take your ballot from you, ask you how you want it filled out, and then fill it out where you can't see what I am doing, I have stolen your vote. If I'm a computer programmer, that makes your situation worse, not better. This remains the case even if I fill it out the way you want me to--I don't have the right to fill out your ballot in secret, period.