HB 1740 update and an endorsement of paper ballots by the Advertiser

[tommcintyre]

Urgent: Action re: Paper Audit Capability for Electronic Voting Machines


Good Morning!


Your ACTIONS made the difference in helping to make yesterday's hearing on HB 1740 a
SUCCESS!
Please continue your support and we will keep updating you. HB 1740 has now been
referred to the House Finance Committee and we REALLY need your support there. You
can still write testimony and submit them
and/or come down to testify. PHONE CALLS will continue to be important too.

Read the Honolulu Advertiser Editorial Endorsement for Paper Audit Trail below.

NOW on to the SENATE hearing scheduled for this FRIDAY, March 11:


Urgent: Action Call to Support Paper Audit Capability for Electronic Voting Machines


Attention: All Kerry, Dean, Kucinich, Clark, Edwards and Gephardt supporters


Congratulations! Yesterday's House hearing was successful.


The Judiciary Committee in the Hawaii Senate will hold a hearing on SB 1325 Relating
to Electronic Voting Requirements. All electronic voting in Hawaii beginning with
the next election (2006) will be require a paper trail which can be verified by a
voter and audited if this bill passes.
Please read the enclosed one-page summary for more information on this issue.

You can help in one or more of the following ways:

1. Telephone the offices of these Senators today or as soon as possible and ask the
staff member to tell the representative that you support SB 1325 (because you
believe every vote should be counted and able to be audited.) Please be courteous.
Most legislators are supportive. If you get an answering machine, leave the
message.
Sen. Colleen Hanabusa 586-7793 - Chair, Judiciary Committee
Sen. Clayton Hee 586-7330 - V. Chair, Judiciary Committee
Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland 586-6130 - Member, Judiciary Committee
Sen. J. Kalani English 587-7225 - Member, Judiciary Committee
Toll free from Maui 984-2400+77225
Toll free from Moloka and Lanai
1-800-468-4644+77225
Sen. Les Ihara, Jr. 586-6250 - Member, Judiciary Committee
Sen. Paul Whalen 586-9385 - Member, Judiciary Committee

and/or

2. You can submit a testimony supporting SB 1325 to the Sergeant-at-Arms
(Oahu Fax [phone]) (Neighbor Islands Fax [phone])

and/or

3. You can attend the hearing: Friday, February 11, 2005 at 9:00 a.m., Conference
room 229, Hawaii State Capitol.


and/or


4. You can submit testimony (see #2 above) and read it at the hearing.

Please do at least one of the above. If you have questions, telephone or e-mail me.
(see above)

Richard Port
Democratic National
Committeeman
--------------------------------------------------------

E-Voting Safety Issues Require Legislation


The recent rush to adopt e-voting machines, prompted by the 2002 Help America Vote
Act (HAVA), has resulted in systems which do not provide the same guarantee of vote
safety as existing systems.

Voting needs to be accurate, anonymous, and transparent. The existing system, called
Ooptical scan¹ or 'mark sense', satisfies these requirements. The process used to
record votes consists of marks on paper. The system that counts the ballots can be
verified by auditing the results presented by the counting machine against a manual
count of paper ballots.

Electronic voting is different. E-voting produces no written record of the vote, so
there is no way to audit the results in a meaningful way. The votes are recorded
only electronically, using software programs that are kept secret from the voting
public. Accuracy must be taken on faith. Failures in the voting machines have
caused lost votes with no paper backup.

This is a real problem, one that affects the outcome of elections. In Carteret
County, North Carolina, over 4400 votes were lost by an electronic voting machine
with no paper backup; some races there have not been decided yet as a result. A bug
in counting software in Illinois initially gave a County Commissioner's race to a
Republican; when the tally was checked by hand, it turned out a Democrat had won.

Even here in Hawai'i, we've had our issues. Votes were recorded for the Green Party
during the primary in places with no Green Party candidates. Without paper backup,
there's no way to be sure how those votes were actually entered.

A voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) is a system where printers attached to
the voting machines print a paper record of the vote at the same time the electronic
vote is recorded. This paper record becomes the official recount ballot, and is a
safeguard in case a machine fails, or is suspected of losing or modifying votes.

Mandatory audits of a random sample of precincts can provide assurances about
accuracy of the e-voting machines and counting software. Comparing the paper audit
trail to the tabulated votes, as we do for the mark sense machines currently in use,
improves public confidence in the voting system and reduces the chances for fraud or
poor design to affect elections.

A voter verified paper audit trail combined with mandatory audits of a random sample
of precincts comprise the minimum requirements for vote safety. A bill to legislate
that minimum would benefit all the people of Hawai'i.

Also of serious concern is the secret nature of the software used to record and
count the ballots. That secrecy is even more dangerous when the people who provide
the software and hardware are contracted to run the systems, as they are here in
Hawai'i.

Safe Vote Hawaii is a grassroots coalition of technology professionals, official
election observers, and community activists working for safe electronic voting.

Safe Vote Hawaii ­ - Visit www.safevotehawaii.com<http://www.safevotehawaii.com/> ­
[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>


*****************************************************************************

EDITORIAL ENDORSEMENT for Paper AUDIT TRAIL from the HONOLULU ADVERTISER:

E-mail<http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Feb/08/op/op01p.html/?email=on>
this story


Posted on: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
EDITORIAL
Paper trail will boost voters' confidence

Hawai'i has a long record of fair, accurate and accountable elections
with a strong level of voter trust.

Hearings set
The House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on electronic
voting at 2 p.m. today in room 325 of the state Capitol. The
Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee will discuss a
similar bill at 9 a.m. Friday in room 229.

That record is now in danger. Flush with federal cash prompted by the
Help America Vote Act of 2002, elections officials across the country
(and in Hawai'i) are modernizing their voting systems, and in many
areas, it was long overdue.

But this stampede toward computer-based systems, or electronic voting,
has not been without its problems.

Electronic voting is fast and easy. But it also has, at least in some
locations, including Hawai'i, a serious flaw: It leaves no paper trail.

Most voters in Hawai'i during the past election used a hybrid system in
which they marked a ballot and then inserted it into a machine for
electronic counting.

That's a giant step ahead of the old system of running punch cards
through card readers, or even the older system of hand tabulating.

But another option available this past election and sure to become more
widely used is electronic voting: You cast your choices on a computer
screen, and the machine tabulates the results.

There is no way to compare what the machine says are the results with
what the voters actually intended once voters leave the booth.

A coalition of data processing experts and political activists is
pushing this year's state Legislature to adopt a bill that would mandate
a paper trail for every electronic voting machine.

The technology for a paper trail is readily available and, indeed,
numerous jurisdictions have already adopted it.

Adding a paper audit trail will cost some money and perhaps add to the
logistical burden of elections officials.

But Hawai'i has essentially gone with a limited program of one
electronic voting machine in every precinct for the convenience of the
disabled and others, so the paper audit would be an additional cost only
for a relatively small number of machines.

America's voting process works because it is transparent, accountable
and trustworthy. Maintaining that standard through a paper audit trail
added to electronic voting machines is a small cost, indeed, to pay.

Lawmakers should waste no time in seeing this idea into law.

[oasis]

1. Friday Feb 11th. for the senate hearing?

[tommcintyre]

3. Friday, February 11, 2005 at 9:00 a.m., Conference room 229

<Ann sent me the following em AFTER I posted the above info. apparently there are some changes, but not the senate hearing time/date. Hope to see you there.>

You can attend the hearing: Friday, February 11, 2005 at 9:00 a.m., Conference
room 229, Hawaii State Capitol

[tommcintyre]

2. updated information

this is THE info you want to post on your website it has all the correct information!




Aloha Hawaii Democrats!!

Congratulations! Yesterday's House hearing was successful.


The Judiciary and Hawaii Affairs Committee in the Hawaii SENATE will hold a hearing
on SB 1325 Relating to Electronic Voting Requirements. All electronic voting in
Hawaii beginning with the next election (2006) will be require a paper trail which
can be verified by a voter and audited if this bill passes.
Please read the enclosed one-page summary for more information on this issue.

You can help in one or more of the following ways:

1. Telephone the offices of these Senators today or as soon as possible and ask the
staff member to tell the representative that you support SB 1325 (because you
believe every vote should be counted and able to be audited.) Please be courteous.
Most legislators are supportive. If you get an answering machine, leave the
message.

Sen. Colleen Hanabusa 586-7793 - Chair, Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs
Committee
Sen. Clayton Hee 586-7330 - Vice Chair, Judiciary and Hawaiian
Affairs Committee

Democratic Members:
Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland 586-6130
Sen. J. Kalani English 587-7225
Toll free from Maui 984-2400+77225
Toll free from Moloka and Lanai
1-800-468-4644+77225
Sen. Les Ihara, Jr. 586-6250

Republican Member:
Sen. Paul Whalen 586-9385
Toll free from Big Island 974-4000+69385

and/or

2. You can submit a testimony supporting SB 1325 to the Sergeant-at-Arms
(Oahu Fax [phone]) (Neighbor Islands Fax [phone])
OR by email:
[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>
Please state in the subject line: Testimony for SB 1325 /
JHW /Friday, 02-11-05 at 9:00 a.m.
For info on how to format and write testimony go to:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/info/guide/process04.asp?press1=info&press2=guide<http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/info/guide/process04asp?press1=info&press2=guide>.



and/or

3. You can attend the hearing: Friday, February 11, 2005 at 9:00 a.m., Conference
room 229, Hawaii State Capitol.

and/or

4. You can submit testimony (see #2 above) and read it at the hearing.

Please do at least one of the above. If you have questions, telephone or e-mail me.
(see above)

To read the bill, SB 1325 visit www.safevotehawaii.com<http://www.safevotehawaii.com/>

Richard Port
Democratic National
Committeeman
--------------------------------------------------------
E-Voting Safety Issues Require Legislation

The recent rush to adopt e-voting machines, prompted by the 2002 Help America Vote
Act (HAVA), has resulted in systems which do not provide the same guarantee of vote
safety as existing systems.

Voting needs to be accurate, anonymous, and transparent. The existing system, called
Ooptical scan¹ or 'mark sense', satisfies these requirements. The process used to
record votes consists of marks on paper. The system that counts the ballots can be
verified by auditing the results presented by the counting machine against a manual
count of paper ballots.

Electronic voting is different. E-voting produces no written record of the vote, so
there is no way to audit the results in a meaningful way. The votes are recorded
only electronically, using software programs that are kept secret from the voting
public. Accuracy must be taken on faith. Failures in the voting machines have
caused lost votes with no paper backup.

This is a real problem, one that affects the outcome of elections. In Carteret
County, North Carolina, over 4400 votes were lost by an electronic voting machine
with no paper backup; some races there have not been decided yet as a result. A bug
in counting software in Illinois initially gave a County Commissioner's race to a
Republican; when the tally was checked by hand, it turned out a Democrat had won.

Even here in Hawai'i, we've had our issues. Votes were recorded for the Green Party
during the primary in places with no Green Party candidates. Without paper backup,
there's no way to be sure how those votes were actually entered.

A voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) is a system where printers attached to
the voting machines print a paper record of the vote at the same time the electronic
vote is recorded. This paper record becomes the official recount ballot, and is a
safeguard in case a machine fails, or is suspected of losing or modifying votes.

Mandatory audits of a random sample of precincts can provide assurances about
accuracy of the e-voting machines and counting software. Comparing the paper audit
trail to the tabulated votes, as we do for the mark sense machines currently in use,
improves public confidence in the voting system and reduces the chances for fraud or
poor design to affect elections.

A voter verified paper audit trail combined with mandatory audits of a random sample
of precincts comprise the minimum requirements for vote safety. A bill to legislate
that minimum would benefit all the people of Hawai'i.

Also of serious concern is the secret nature of the software used to record and
count the ballots. That secrecy is even more dangerous when the people who provide
the software and hardware are contracted to run the systems, as they are here in
Hawai'i.

Safe Vote Hawaii is a grassroots coalition of technology professionals, official
election observers, and community activists working for safe electronic voting.

Safe Vote Hawaii ­ - Visit www.safevotehawaii.com<http://www.safevotehawaii.com/> ­
[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>


*****************************************************************************

EDITORIAL ENDORSEMENT for Paper AUDIT TRAIL from the HONOLULU ADVERTISER:

E-mail this story
Space
Posted on: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
EDITORIAL
Paper trail will boost voters' confidence
Hawai'i has a long record of fair, accurate and accountable elections with a strong
level of voter trust.

Hearings set
The House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on electronic voting at 2 p.m.
today in room 325 of the state Capitol. The Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs
Committee will discuss a similar bill at 9 a.m. Friday in room 229.

That record is now in danger. Flush with federal cash prompted by the Help America
Vote Act of 2002, elections officials across the country (and in Hawai'i) are
modernizing their voting systems, and in many areas, it was long overdue.

But this stampede toward computer-based systems, or electronic voting, has not been
without its problems.
Electronic voting is fast and easy. But it also has, at least in some locations,
including Hawai'i, a serious flaw: It leaves no paper trail.

Most voters in Hawai'i during the past election used a hybrid system in which they
marked a ballot and then inserted it into a machine for electronic counting.
That's a giant step ahead of the old system of running punch cards through card
readers, or even the older system of hand tabulating.

But another option available this past election and sure to become more widely used
is electronic voting: You cast your choices on a computer screen, and the machine
tabulates the results.

There is no way to compare what the machine says are the results with what the
voters actually intended once voters leave the booth.

A coalition of data processing experts and political activists is pushing this
year's state Legislature to adopt a bill that would mandate a paper trail for every
electronic voting machine.
The technology for a paper trail is readily available and, indeed, numerous
jurisdictions have already adopted it.
Adding a paper audit trail will cost some money and perhaps add to the logistical
burden of elections officials.
But Hawai'i has essentially gone with a limited program of one electronic voting
machine in every precinct for the convenience of the disabled and others, so the
paper audit would be an additional cost only for a relatively small number of
machines.
America's voting process works because it is transparent, accountable and
trustworthy. Maintaining that standard through a paper audit trail added to
electronic voting machines is a small cost, indeed, to pay.

Lawmakers should waste no time in seeing this idea into law.






--