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Monday, April 25
Benefits of Voter Paper Trail Justify Cost of Machines
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 25 Apr 2005 08:48 PM CDT
 Benefits of Voter Paper Trail Justify Cost of Machines
The following appeared as a Guest Column in the Cedar Rapids Gazette
By Tom Slockett, Johnson County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections
Did you know that
Carteret County, N.C., lost more than 4,400 votes on new electronic
voting machines in the 2004 presidential election? This was more than
the margin of victory in a statewide race.
In contrast, for the same election, Nevada began implementing machines
with a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail. A statewide audit of 145
machines and 64,424 votes matched electronic totals with paper records
at 100 percent accuracy.
Now is the time for voters to decide which system they prefer. During
2006, all voters will cast ballots on equipment purchased after the
2000 presidential election. Problems that year in Florida spurred
Congress to mandate two key requirements for voter-operated ballot
machines:
Second-chance voting.
Voters must be informed when they make certain types of errors on their
ballots and be given the opportunity to make corrections. Otherwise,
for example, if two choices are made for the office of president, no
vote for that office can be counted.
Accessible voting equipment.
More people with visual impairment must be able to vote a secret ballot
without assistance. One device per precinct, such as a Direct Recording
Electronics or touch-screen voting machine, must be equipped with
earphones.
No
voting system in place for the 2000 presidential election met these
requirements. This fact, along with federal funds to grease the skids,
made the decision to purchase new voting equipment a practical reality
nationwide.
The Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail allows choices on a touch screen
as they are simultaneously printed out beneath Plexiglas on a roll of
paper that scrolls next to the screen. Different languages can be
selected and either viewed or heard with headphones. Choices are
printed until mistakes are corrected and the printout correctly
displays the voter’s choices. The printout scrolls out of sight onto a
storage roll inside the machine after the voter has checked it. This
printed vote can be recounted to prove that the results reported by the
computer accurately reflect voters’ choices.
This system is a powerful disincentive against corrupt programming or
alteration of electronically stored vote totals due to the existence of
proof.
A Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail sounds good, so what’s the catch?
Simply put, it costs more. Many more trees are killed with a paper
audit trail, and additional chemicals are required for thermal paper,
toner or ink. Costs are incurred for inventory, storage and recycling
or disposition. Printers jam, and the serial record of votes on a paper
roll requires special procedures to preserve the secrecy of the ballot.
People with vision impairment can’t verify their votes on most existing
Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails. At significant additional cost,
technology exists to include a scanner with character recognition and
voice software to allow independent verification through headphones.
Voting technology is continuing to evolve and improve. Direct Recording
Electronics systems without a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail may
someday work in practice, as experts say. But with no paper trail, only
a relatively small percentage of voters actually have the
sophistication to verify vote totals based on their own knowledge,
without reliance on ‘‘experts.’’
The advantage of a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail is that any voter
can understand its verification process. The paper record of votes
individuals have verified with their own eyes or ears are simply
counted and totaled. At this point in time, during significant change
and controversy regarding reliability and accuracy of voting machines,
care in reassuring the voters of the legitimacy of our elections is
critical.
Yes, the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail system costs more. How much
is it worth for voters to be confident that their ballots are counted
as they are cast?
Action: Contact your legislator to let them know you want your vote verified.
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Paperless Voting Machines to be Installed in Iowa Unless We Act Now
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 25 Apr 2005 06:38 AM CDT
 Paperless Voting Machines to be Installed in Iowa Unless We Act Now
The following is a letter sent to Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver
by Maureen McCue MD, PhD, Coordinator Iowa Chapter, Physicians for
Social Responsibility.
Please cut and paste this post and get it out to EVERYONE in your e-mail circle ASAP.
Call or write your legislators, your local newspaper, and Secretary Culver. See contact info. below.
Dear Secretary Culver,
I am very concerned that Iowa may not make paper verification of
electronic voting machines available to voters and I'm even more
concerned about how this will adversely impact our democracy, our
already poor voter turnout and diminishing faith in our electoral
system. I turn to you for your help and advice.
During the HAVA meeting in Cedar Rapids, March 28th it was
announced that the Iowa Senate had unanimously voted for voter verified
paper trails to the electronic voting machines being installed in
Iowa. At the time I and, I'm sure, many in the audience, felt
this was a done deal: that Iowans would be able to verify that their
voting machine had correctly captured their intended vote. I've
since learned that the companion bill did not make it through the House
to the General Assembly and that this issue of great concern to so many
Iowans will die soon without approval. Without a vote in the
House for voter verification on paper, Iowa will install paperless
machines at which point change to paper verification will not be
possible.
Going with a system that does not verify each and every person's vote
is a very critical mistake. I understand that those opposed to
paper raise issues of cost, waste of paper, and the difficulties of
training all the precincts in their use and maintenance. While
these are not trivial issues, they are not sufficient reasons to risk
loosing even more faith in our electoral process.
I've learned some legislators believe there is only one option for a
voting machine with a paper printer option and it is too
expensive. But, from comments made at your meeting I understood
that several companies including one called Micro Vote, ES &S, as
well as Diebold and Sequoia were being considered for use in Iowa.
Democracy is not easy or cheap (look how much we spend on the military
that supposedly protects our rights and freedoms, especially or freedom
to vote). If we don't urge our representatives to vote on
this issue in favor of voter verified paper trails, we essentially give
up our right to verifiable elections. This is a very dangerous
and steep, slippery slope to the end of democracy as we understand
it. I know you are as concerned as I am that our voting system
works for all our citizens. At the very least, let's make sure
that every vote cast counts - accurately. The time to reclaim our
democracy is today!! Please be certain that this issue is not
allowed to die. Please tell me what I can do and what you will do
to verify that our votes are recorded as intended.
Maureen McCue MD, PhD
Coordinator, Iowa Chapter
Physicians for Social Responsibility
____________________
Take Action: To find and write your legislator click here: www4.legis.state.ia.us/find-leg/
Click here to Contact Sec. of State Chet Culver
or call 515-281-0145
Then contact the media:
Click on the links below to send a letter, or copy and paste the address into your e-mail.
The Des Moines Register letters@news.dmreg.com or call 800-532-1455
Ames Tribune: letters@amestrib.com or call (800) 234-TRIB
Iowa State Daily letters@iowastatedaily.com or call (515) 294-3557
Cedar Rapids Gazette editorial@gazettecommunications.com or call 319-398-5869
Quad Cities Times opinions@qctimes.com or call (800) 437-4641
Sioux City Journal larry.myhre@lee.net or call 800-397-9820
Iowa City Press-Citizen newsroom@press-citizen.com or call 319-337-3181
The Daily Iowan daily-iowan@uiowa.edu or call 319-335-6063
Mason City Globe Gazette www.globegazette.com or call toll free: 800-421-0524
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier tish.flattery@wcfcourier.com or call 800-798-1741
Please write or call and pass this on. We need EVERYONE’s help on this action.
Iowa Rapid Response needs letter-writers, researchers, readers, and media watchers. Join the Rapid Response-Iowa team.
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