Nolte - You Up for Another Run?
By Sam Garchik
Popular Progressive had this first, then Deeth, then Iowa Progress. It's a week old by the time I got it, but hey. Greiner is leaving and Nolte, a one-time and hopefully future BFIA contributor, should run again.
Also, I voted during the SILO election, and because things were going kind of slow at the polling place, I used the new machine! This was a pretty cool thing. It's not a Diebold - there's a paper trail and all, and you have two opportunities to change your vote one you actually vote. So yeah, I went back and forth on the SILO, and the machine kept a paper trail of EVERYTIME I changed my vote. I was pretty happy with how the thing was set up. Deeth - you got an idea as to the merits of this machine? Also, anyone else out there know anything about these gizmos?
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Saturday, February 17
Nolte - You Up for Another Run? [And Question for Deeth!]
by
Sam Garchik
on Sat 17 Feb 2007 08:04 PM CST
Thursday, February 8
Abandon Touchscreens
by
Sam Garchik
on Thu 08 Feb 2007 09:00 PM CST
Abandon Touchscreens By Trish and Ellen, Rapid Response Iowa The good folks at Iowans for Voting Integrity http://www.iowansforvotingintegrity.org/News.htm have been working hard behind the scenes to assure election integrity in Iowa. They are working with state legislators to introduce a bill that will bring paper ballots and verified voting to all Iowa elections. As you know, even the Republican Governor of Florida has decided to abandon touchscreen voting machines. Iowa should abandon touchscreens, too. http://www.nytimes. com/2007/ 02/02/us/ 02voting.html Your help is now needed. County Auditors may well be resistant to more changes in equipment; last year the Iowa's Auditors' association opposed even the modest bill SF 351, which would only have required that paper printers be added to the touchscreens. Action: Please
consider calling or writing your County Auditor and ask her or him to
support legislation that would replace touchscreens in Iowa. Be sure to note that you support legislation that would have the state fund the transition to paper ballots. Click here for contact information for all the County Auditors in Iowa: http://www.sos.state.ia.us/elections/auditors/AuditorsList.html New Legislation being introduced this week: Legislation
being introduced this week by U.S. Representative Rush Holt will
establish strict new standards for the paper rolls, which no current
touchscreen system meets. This will strongly favor paper ballots, with
assistive marking devices for disabled voters. Contact your auditor: You
may ask, why not just add the printer on to the touchscreen to allow
the voter to see their vote on paper? Below is some information. From the IVI website: A survey by the group Iowans for Voting Integrity (IVI) found that one-fourth of Iowa voters used the touchscreens in the June 2006 primary. Says
IVI chair Carole Simmons, “With touchscreen machines, votes are
recorded as a chunk of computer code that the voter cannot view. This
leaves the door open for error or fraud." Numerous
academic studies and independent security reports over the past year
warn that elections on these machines are at high risk of being
compromised, either unintentionally or by deliberate, malicious design. Touchscreen systems, even with an added paper printout the voter can see, are no match for voter-marked paper ballots. All touchscreens used in the U.S. have proven vulnerable to calibration problems; e.g., “vote flipping." See the article "All Four Major E-Voting Machines Flip Votes in Early Voting" by Warren Stewart of VoteTrust USA. Why paper ballots are better than a "paper trail": In case of a recount, ballots are far superior than a printer roll. A ballot marked by the voter more definitively communicates the voter's intent than a secondary printout. Paper ballots are more amenable to recount or audit by hand. Disabled voters have successfully used paper-ballot markers like the Automark (used in almost a third of Iowa's polling places) without trusting to glitch-prone touchscreens. The paper that the printer rolls use is low-quality, flimsy paper; the roll is commonly called a "toilet-paper roll." Legislation being introduced this week by U.S. Representative Rush Holt will establish strict new standards for the paper rolls, which no current touchscreen system meets. This will strongly favor paper ballots, with assistive marking devices for disabled voters. Rep. Holt's bill will provide $300 million to states and counties to upgrade to the new standards. Iowa should not find itself in the position of catching up to Florida. We should move to adopt the most proven, easily verified method of voting throughout the state: the paper ballot. If you have questions, send an e-mail to Iowans for Voting Integrity at Visit their website at http://www.iowansforvotingintegrity.org/index.htm |
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