We at Election Defense Alliance sending the following alert opposing H.R. 811 (scroll down to view) are fully aware that this is a very controversial issue.
Some of you receiving this message may strongly disagree with our position. I have added this prefatory note to the alert to acknowledge those concerns. You may skip to the alert below if you prefer.
After much study and debate, the consensus among EDA coordinators is that the dangerous provisions of this bill so far outweigh the potential good, that we must oppose.
We have stated those reasons briefly in the alert that follows, and in greater supporting detail in the resources found by following links in the alert below.
We acknowledge that H.R. 811 includes some needed corrections to serious problems in electronic voting systems.
However, we find that several of the bill's measures for which major claims are made -- such as the VVPAT "paper trails" -- are in actual practice incapable of preventing, detecting, or correcting outcome-altering fraud or mistabulation.
We could support this bill if it were limited to prescriptions that would actually improve transparency and security--for example, prohibitions on wireless and internet connectivity in voting systems.
But the bill's backers have refused to consider limiting the bill to those provisions, as they refused to consider amendments offered early on (as in the Request by Voters for example).
The completely unnecessary multi-billion dollar text convertor proposal that will entrench computers in the nation's voting systems, remains firmly cemented into the bill, as though no lesson was learned from the HAVA Trojan horse experience.
Most disturbingly, the bill's handlers in Congress have let it be known that all proposals to amend the EAC provisions are non-negotiable, off the table.
This strongly suggests that consolidating centralized EAC control of elections may be the primary intent driving this bill.
There is much more to be said, pro and con, regarding H.R. 811, then can be presented in any one e-mail announcement.
We welcome your questions and comments directed to Info@ElectionDefenseAlliance.org.
I offer to create a page on the Election Defense Alliance website where we will post critiques of our position on H.R. 811 and our responses on each point.
Whether you agree with our position on H.R. 811 or not, we hope that on balance you regard EDA as your ally in the quest for transparent, secure, publicly verified elections. We hope that you recognize, as do we, that attaining integrity in our fatally compromised election system is a monumental national civic campaign that will require cooperation among millions of American voters.
To these ends, we ask that you use the links found in the "Subscribe! Spread Word! Act!" section of the newsletter below to:
1. opt-in to this election integrity E-mail network we are building, and
2. forward this message to others, inviting them to do the same.
If you agree with the reasons we present in the following alert for opposing H.R. 811, please contact Congress, the press, and everyone you know, to deliver the message below.
If you do not agree with us, please at least consider what we have to say. We have listened, and will continue to listen, to you.
Sincerely,
Dan Ashby, co-founder
Election Defense Alliance
