Blog for Iowa :: Verified Voting

By Sean Flaherty, IVI

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson issued a call for a verifiable election in 2008. Governor Richardson's essay urging passage of HR 811 was published Monday in the Washington, D.C. newspaper The Hill:

http://thehill.com/op-eds/a-reliable-verifiable-vote-in-2008-2007-06-19.html

Take a moment to thank him for his leadership on verifiable elections, and sign a petition to members of Congress to pass HR 811.

Mr. Richardson knows something about making big changes to voting systems: in 2006 he oversaw New Mexico's conversion to a statewide paper ballot system in a matter of months.

HR 811, near a vote in the House, will require voter-verified paper ballots and mandatory random hand audits by 2008. Computer scientists who study voting systems have concluded that these measures are crucial to protecting the vote. Unless federal legislation passes, at least 13 states are likely to use paperless electronic voting, either exclusively or extensively, in the 2008 election.

Iowans can play an important role in protecting the 2008 vote. Senators Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, and Barack Obama have cosponsored a Senate bill, S. 1487, which sets a 2010 deadline for voter-verified paper records and random audits. Sign the petition in favor of HR 811's 2008 deadline, and let Senators Clinton, Dodd, and Obama know states have proven that a verifiable 2008 election is feasible! Their direct contact information is below.

Other states have implemented major overhauls in voting equipment in a matter of months. If it's important, it can be done. Remind Congress of this fact, and we will be a step closer securing our elections.

Thank you for all you do.

Best regards,
Sean Flaherty
Co-Chair, Iowans for Voting Integrity
www.IowansForVotingIntegrity.org

Iowans for Voting Integrity is a nonpartisan citizen group advocating voting systems that are accurate and verifiable. We do not endorse candidates for public office.

Contact Information for S.1487 cosponsors Clinton, Dodd, and Obama

Senator Hillary Clinton

Senate Office:
Phone (202) 224-4451
http://clinton.senat...

Presidential Campaign Office:
http://www.hillarycl...

Senator Christopher Dodd:

Senate Office:
Phone (202) 224-2823
http://dodd.senate.g...

Campaign Office:
http://www.chrisdodd...

Senator Barack Obama:

Senate Office:
Phone (202) 224-2854
http://obama.senate....

Campaign Office:
http://my.barackobam...

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Tuesday, June 5

Sign a Petition to Protect the Vote

by Sam Garchik on Tue 05 Jun 2007 08:09 PM CDT

Sign a Petition to Protect the Vote

By Sean Flaherty, IVI

Dear Friends,

We got a paper ballot law for our state, but Iowans must step up to ensure that the 2008 Presidential election is not decided by tens of millions of votes that cannot be verified or truly recounted.

Click here to sign a petition to protect the vote in 2008.

Your name and information will be delivered to members of Congress, but will not be placed online.

After you sign, please pass this on.

Background

Unless federal or state legislation changes things, 13 states are likely to use paperless electronic voting, either exclusively or extensively, in the 2008 election. Among those states are Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina.

A drumbeat of security reports, a comprehensive analysis by a task force of top computer scientists, and vote-altering glitches in recent elections have proven this to be a risky and foolish gamble.

Legislation in the House has a 2008 deadline, but Senators are balking at 2008; they don't want to put election officials through a major change of equipment in a year's time. That is an understandable motive, but states have proven that it can be done in less than a year! Florida is going to prove it by November 2008. New Mexico, Connecticut, and North Carolina implemented major overhauls in voting equipment in a matter or months.

The House bill is HR 811, the Senate bill is S.1487. S. 1487 is cosponsored by Senators Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, and Barack Obama. It could not hurt to let these three Senators know that you want a verifiable election in 2008, and that states have proven a 2008 deadline is feasible! Their contact information is below.

Thank you for all you do.

Best regards,
Sean Flaherty
Co-Chair, Iowans for Voting Integrity
www.IowansForVotingIntegrity.org

Contact Information for S.1487 cosponsors Clinton, Dodd, and Obama

Senator Hillary Clinton

Senate Office:
Phone (202) 224-4451
http://clinton.senat...

Presidential Campaign Office:
http://www.hillarycl...

Senator Christopher Dodd:

Senate Office:
Phone (202) 224-2823
http://dodd.senate.g...

Campaign Office:
http://www.chrisdodd...

Senator Barack Obama:

Senate Office:
Phone (202) 224-2854
http://obama.senate....

Campaign Office:
http://my.barackobam...

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Monday, June 4

Establishing our Progressive Iowa Network (PIN) - Update

by Caroline Vernon on Mon 04 Jun 2007 09:30 AM CDT

Establishing our Progressive Iowa Network (PIN) - Update

By Caroline Vernon

This Saturday, June 9th, progressive leaders, legislators and activists from various organizations across Iowa will come together for the first DFA-Iowa Networking Summit.

We will be gathering at the Iowa City Public Library from 9am to 3pm (the last hour will be devoted to DFA-IA administrative business).

Some of our great leaders who will be in attendance include Charlie Chamberlain from Democracy for America, Ed Fallon, Denise O’Brien, and Senator Joe Bolkcom, just to name a few…

Once again, the purpose of this gathering is to establish a Progressive Iowa Network which will serve to better unite progressives across the state in order to support each others efforts around important issues, particularly if we hope to be more effective moving into the next legislative session. Besides providing an excellent opportunity to connect with fellow progressives, one direct benefit of an Iowa Network would be the enhanced ability to articulate our progressive world view by creating a state-wide echo chamber that will carry our unified message to all Iowans.

As previously indicated, we have identified 5 issues in Iowa that require urgent action:

1.   VOICE (Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections)
2.   CAFO regulations / Farm Bill
3.   Fair Share
4.   Healthcare
5.   Media

Also, due to the recent vote on the Iraq supplemental bill, it is our hope that peace activists from across Iowa will take advantage of this opportunity to come together to discuss potential state wide initiatives that will effectively pressure those in Congress who voted for the bill.

In addition to addressing the above issues, we are tracking organizations by their particular area(s) of focus. This list has also evolved since my last blog:

1.   Policy / Research
2.   Lobbying
3.   Media & Blogs
4.   Grassroots Organizing

These 4 areas have been added:

5.   Direct Action
6.   Education
7.   Funding (to identify potential sources of funding)
8.   Political Campaigns (organizations who can be involved with                                campaigns)

We are working on compiling a comprehensive list of all participating organizations, including contact information, primary areas of focus and primary issues of concern. If you or your organization will be attending the summit, we ask that you submit your information using the example below (4 stars = primary focus)

Example:

Organization: Progressive Action for the Common Good
Address: 3707 Eastern Ave, Davenport, IA 52807
Contact Information: (name/position/phone/email):
Caroline Vernon, Organizer, 563-676-7580, carolina1961@gmail.com.
James Lee, Executive Director, 563-650-3922, jlee6367@yahoo.com

Areas of Focus                Rating                Issues                  Rating

Policy/Research                                    VOICE                ****
Lobbying                        **                 CAFO/Farm Bill      ***
Media/Blogs                                         Media                **
Grassroots Organizing      ****               Fair Share            **
Direct Action                  ***               Healthcare           ***
Education                       **
Funding                          *                   Other: _Peace _ ****
Poltical Campaigns

Please send the above information to carolina1961@gmail.com by Thursday, June 7th so we can be sure to include your information in the hand-out.

It is important to note that we encourage ALL progressive organizations to attend this meeting and become part of the network even if we may not be focusing on your specific issues at this time. The goal of the network is to create a framework designed to support all progressive initiatives. We need everyone’s participation in order to succeed.

If you have any questions, please call Caroline Vernon at 563-676-7580.

Hope to see you Saturday!

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