Reply #10: VoteTrust: Virginia Takes Up Paper Ballot Legislation in 2007 Session [View All]

[rumpel]

By Ivy Main, NNew Electoral Reform Alliance for Virginia
January 12, 2007
In the new session, Virginia’s legislature will debate bills requiring all jurisdictions in the state use paper ballot voting systems.

Delegate Tim Hugo and Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, both Republicans from Fairfax County, have introduced identical bills in the House and Senate (HB 2707 and SB 840) that would require all jurisdictions in Virginia (with the exception of a few very small localities) to use paper ballots read by optical scan machines. Localities would also purchase ballot-marking devices for use by persons with disabilities. The legislation also contains a ban on wireless communication devices, provisions for post-election random audits of election machines, and procedures for the review of at least some paper ballots in the case of a recount.

Enthusiasm for the bill has spread beyond the election integrity groups that lobbied for last year’s bill. This year a number of citizen’s groups, advocates and political parties formed the Verifiable Voting Coalition of Virginia, whose members include Virginia Verified Voting, the New Electoral Reform Alliance for Virginia (New Era for VA), the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the Virginia Libertarian Party, the Virginia Organizing Project, and the Southern Coalition for Verified Voting.

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2184&Itemid=113