VOV 1/30/08: Around the Country and the Counties

     What we can do to help is to call or write to Virginia’s legislators to support SB 292 and oppose HB 238. All this information and more is available here.

     In Florida, according to Bill Faulkner, a record number of voters turned out last Tuesday. However, many were either not permitted to vote or provided with provisional ballots. Will this problem recur in November? The new HAVA regulatory system is not ready yet—there are errors in the database, for example.

     On a happier note, DREs were used for the last time yesterday in Florida. “We need federal regulation,” said Faulkner.

     Madeline Rawley of the Bucks County Coalition for Voting Integrity, speaking about her home state Pennsylvania, referred to the New York Times Magazine article about the manifold problems experienced since 2000 with voting machines (1/8/08). She worried that Pennsylvania will be the next locus of scandal in November. Twenty-one counties use ES&S Ivotronics, and fully fifty-four have only external paper records—that is, printers have been attached to their DREs.

     “The race will be tight and there will be no way to recount,” she said.

     Mary Ann Gould, weekly host of Voice of the Voters, called Pennsylvania “the silent state.” Its two largest cities, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, account for 45 percent of the voters—and there is no way to recount or audit votes.

     “People are waking up, but not in time for November,” she said. Pennsylvania may be the “deciding state,” a scary prospect unless Rush Holt’s HR 5036 is passed in time.

     Also representing Pennsylvania, Alan Brau of Northampton County said that at least they were able to get rid of their Advanced Voting machines, which were proved so faulty. But the county opted for another brand of DRE and their injunction did not hold up in court. “The people favor ease of use over accuracy,” he said, referring to this as “cognitive dissonance”—the people don’t understand the implications.

     In August 2006, continued Marian Schneider, twenty-five Pennsylvanians joined together to file a lawsuit protesting that DREs violate the state election code and its constitution. In April 2007 the motion was allowed to go forward. In May it went to the state supreme court. Since that time DREs have been decertified in California and Ohio, where the secretaries of state have recommended PB voting. They have filed an injunction that will be heard on Friday [this contradicts Brough’s statement above that the injunction did not hold up in court]: there are no permanent records of ballots and the situation as is does not comply with Pennsylvania audit laws.

     They are trying to prevent three counties from purchasing DREs. They hope that the supreme court will hear them. They need a public outcry and for citizens to demand verified voting. Write to Governor Ed Rendell, no matter where you live, and demand VVPBs.

     Paddy Shaeffer, representing Ohio, whose SoS has been featured on VoV twice in the last month, reported that election officials are mutinying against Brunner to hold on to their DREs. There is lots of trouble with lobbyists, who sympathize with both ES&S and the officials.

     Citizen outreach is needed—where’s the outrage? Private associations are being aided by taxpayer money. So far the practice of auditing votes in the same counties every year should be changed to a more appropriate random system.

     For more information on this situation and on New Hampshire, visit this page.

++++++++++

     Alysoun McLaughlin, head of the National Association of Counties, was interviewed during the second half of the program. She is interested in building bridges, challenging counties all over the country; now citizens and activists want to become involved.

 1  |  2  |  3  |  4