from Velvet Revolution Election Protection Strike Force

Paper Ballot Campaign Letter Specifies 'Paper Ballots,' Not 'Paper Records' or 'Paper Trails'

Groups Seek Your Endorsement--Email your Senators and Representative from this link[br />
VoterAction.org, VotersUnite.org, VelvetRevolution.us, National Voting Rights Institute, Demos, TrueMajorityAction and the Dolores Huerta Foundation, along with dozens of other election integrity groups across the nation, today call upon Congress to introduce and enact legislation ensuring a paper ballot for every vote cast in the United States in time for the 2008 election. This legislation could take the form of an amended version of Rep. Rush Holt's bill known as HR-550, which is currently being rewritten for re-introduction in the new Congress.

While many changes to the U.S. election system are needed, we believe that a paper ballot for every vote cast is an absolutely unassailable requirement of any election reform. This is why we have launched the Paper Ballot Campaign.

We've set up an easy way for you to endorse the Paper Ballot Campaign. Click here to email your Senators and Representative.

Full text of letter is at this link.

Here is the list of organizations that signed the letter:
VoterAction.org
VotersUnite.org
VelvetRevolution.us
National Voting Rights Institute
Demos
TrueMajorityAction
Dolores Huerta Foundation

Broward Election Reform Coalition
California Election Protection Network
Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota
Coalition for Voting Integrity - Pennsylvania
Coloradoans For Voting Integrity
Commonweal Institute
Election Defense Alliance
Florida Fair Elections Coalition
Gathering To Save Our Democracy - TennesseeVotePA
Georgians for Verified Voting
Iowans for Voting Integrity
Mainstreet Moms (theMMOB.org)
N.C. Coalition for Verified Voting
Network of Citizens
New Yorkers for Verified Voting
Oregon Voter Rights Coalition
ProgressiveActionAlliance.org
Palm Beach Coalition for Election Reform
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections - Florida
SAVEOurVotes.org - Maryland
Texas Safe Voting
TrueVoteMD
Verifiable Voting Coalition of Virginia
Verify The Vote Indiana
Virginia Verified Voting
VoteAllegheny
VoteRescue of Texas
Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay

(edited for link tweaking and HTML)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2918861

Thanks.

Here is the letter. http://www.velvetrevolution.us/Campaigns/PaperBallots/

December 14, 2006

Open Letter to all Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:

We, the undersigned non-partisan election integrity organizations, strongly urge you, as a first order of business in the 110th Congress, to enact new federal legislation to protect the integrity of our elections. While there are many areas of concern for any such legislation, none is more essential to the accuracy of our elections and the confidence among our electorate than for there to be a paper ballot for every vote cast. Not a paper "trail" or a paper "record," but a paper ballot.

In light of lessons learned during the 2006 primary and general elections -- with myriad contests resulting in uncertainty and thousands of voters in state after state turned away from the polls unable to cast a vote on DRE systems which failed throughout the day -- we now hold that a paper ballot, whether counted by optical-scan system or hand, is the minimum requirement for any Election Reform legislation in which voters may have confidence. Such a requirement is needed to help ensure Americans that every legally registered voter can vote, that every vote is recorded precisely as the voter intends, and that every vote is counted and, if necessary, re-counted accurately.

This year's elections have made crystal clear that electronic voting machines -- both those without paper ballots, such as Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) touch-screen systems, and even those with so-called "Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails" -- caused massive disruptions, undermined the results of crucial elections, and forced thousands of voters to leave the polls without being able to exercise their franchise.
Paper trails and paper records are not sufficient to safeguard elections and restore confidence among the electorate. Unless there is a paper ballot for every vote cast, three fundamental principles of democratic elections are violated:

1. Observable tallies. It is impossible for citizens to observe the counting of electronic ballots and audit the results.

2. Equal access. Requiring voters to cast votes on computers discriminates against those who are not familiar with the technology.

3. Accurate results. It is impossible to ensure that the reported results are accurate. In fact, a voter-verifiable paper audit trail cannot be depended on to provide the certainty lacking in electronic tallies. Clear evidence from several recent elections reveals instances in which:

o The electronic screen record did not reflect the voter's intent.

o The electronic count did not match the paper trail produced by the e-voting machine.

o The summary review screen did not match the paper trail produced by the e-voting machine.

o Voters did not know to verify the paper trail or were prevented from doing so by improper design, incorrect setup, or malfunction of the printer.

o Computer systems introduced unnecessary complexity into the entire election process and therefore increased the likelihood of errors by voters, poll workers, and election officials.

o Computerized voting relinquished control of the final outcome to the technical skills of those who programed the software.

While it is not easy to reconcile the money already spent on new DRE systems, it would be worse to continue using election equipment that is not accomplishing its critical task. If this were a public safety matter, no one would question the ban on the continued use of a dangerous product, even if it had been funded by billions of public dollars. Why should we act any differently when it comes to protecting the safety of our electoral process?

Ultimately, the true price of free, fair, reliable, accurate, and transparent elections in America cannot be judged by dollars alone.

We therefore urge you to immediately enact legislation which requires a paper ballot for every vote cast. Now is the moment for action, in time to take effect for the 2008 primaries and general election.

Respectfully yours,

The Undersigned

VoterAction.org
VotersUnite.org
VelvetRevolution.us
National Voting Rights Institute
Demos
TrueMajorityAction
Dolores Huerta Foundation

Broward Election Reform Coalition
California Election Protection Network
Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota
Coalition for Voting Integrity - Pennsylvania
Coloradoans For Voting Integrity
Commonweal Institute
Election Defense Alliance
Florida Fair Elections Coalition
Gathering To Save Our Democracy - TennesseeVotePA
Georgians for Verified Voting
Iowans for Voting Integrity
Mainstreet Moms (theMMOB.org)
N.C. Coalition for Verified Voting
Network of Citizens
New Yorkers for Verified Voting
Oregon Voter Rights Coalition
ProgressiveActionAlliance.org
Palm Beach Coalition for Election Reform
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections - Florida
SAVEOurVotes.org - Maryland
Texas Safe Voting
TrueVoteMD
Verifiable Voting Coalition of Virginia
Verify The Vote Indiana
Virginia Verified Voting
VoteAllegheny
VoteRescue of Texas
Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay

We know that with touchscreens there is no guarantee of a voter
verified paper ballot, or that the voter will even get to VOTE!

Besides all of the other problems.
- You can't guarantee a voter verified paper ballot for each vote.
- The printers don't always work.

Here is a memo sent to all NC touchscreen counties this November

http://www.ncvoter.net/downloads/Procedures_for_Damaged_RTAL_Paper_Rolls.pdf

Also, in our May primary, in just one county, 10 touchscreen machines had
nothing printed on the paper reels, because the reels were put in backwards:



YOU CAN BET THAT THE NASED, THE ELECTION CENTER, THE EAC, THE NFB
AND THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WILL FIGHT US ON THIS.

We could end up with NO legislation.

My other alternative is to require that every state print enough paper ballots
for 100% of the registered voters, regardless of type of voting equipment.

That in itself will lead to the obsolescence of DREs, albeit a little more
gradually.

Voters will ask for the paper ballot most of the time,
and county commissioners will get tired of paying the upkeep for the
expensive DRE/clunkers.

Sorry 'bout that!

while you've got their attention.

Granted paper ballots is the first step, but you should also get them thinking about other security measures:

1) Counting ballots at the precinct level and posting results for each machine. No central tabulators.

2) Mandatory RANDOM audits

3) Zeroing out machines

....

Get them thinking total protection.

I'm sure there are more, but it's late and I wanted to bet this off. I'm sure others will chip in.

There are strategic reasons why "a paper ballot for every vote counted" was isolated as the one thing to push for in this campaign. There are many other important issues necessary for an acceptable election reform bill. You mention three of them. Rest assured that we'll push for the absolute best election system we can!

Thanks for your post.

bill to keep HAVA as law, then it must require a paper ballot.

Happy to see such a list of supporters as found here. That's gotta be one of the largest concerted efforts toward getting what we have to have.

One must wonder if there is a chance HAVA could be eliminated in total. If we scrap HAVA and the funding dries up then the fancy vote stealing machines will not be affordable.