GA, Colorado, MD...

[Epoch]

What do these states have in common. Electronic voting machines. I'm here for a final time to get support people. Here is a new letter that I wrote today. Get up and take action. E-mail me if you plan on helping out [e-mail]

Also, I have talked to two state delegates today and have a meeting planned with a senator for next week. It's easy to get in touch and they love to talk to their constituents. And it's extremely effective. Call them and tell them about our concerns. The scary thing is that I was the only person to have contacted them so far and they knew nothing about the issues. So call them up. It takes 2 minutes!

Here's the letter..feel free to change them to your specifications.

The Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin
2207 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative Cardin,
One of the fundamental tenets of democracy, and one of the reasons the United States is a great nation is its tradition of fair and open elections. Recent reports from Johns Hopkins University and the Information Security Institute have discovered the vulnerability of the widely used electronic voting systems to abuse, corruption, and fraud. The state of Maryland recently purchased $55 million worth of these machines from Diebold Election Systems, and states across the country are unfortunately doing the same. At the moment, these electronic touch screen voting machines do not provide voters with a receipt with which they can check the accuracy of their votes or know with complete confidence that their votes have been recorded. Paper receipts are essential to an electronic voting process. Election officials could use these paper receipts as a critical safeguard to verify votes in the event of a computer malfunction, recount, hacking, or other irregularity. In fact, on July 25, 2003 the Washington Post reported that even “a 15-year-old with a modicum of computer savvy could manipulate the system and change the outcome of an election.”
There are many systems that do have such paper trails, however. For example, optical scan ballots (like standardized tests) that are scanned at the polling station are inexpensive and the marked ballots are the “voter verifiable paper trail.” Alternatively, touch-screen machines can be modified so that they print a copy of the ballot, which the voter can check for accuracy. That printed ballot is deposited in a locked ballot box in case a recount is requested. This “voter-verified paper trail” would guarantee the integrity of our electoral system and insure that the United States government remains responsive to its citizens. Without a trustworthy system with which to vote for elected officials like you, we will lose an integral part of our system of governance and way of life. I have spoken with many residents of Maryland, all of whom agree with the need for a safe and secure voting system. We, the undersigned, urge you to join us in pressing for this simple alternative to this insidious threat to our democracy by becoming a co-sponsor of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003, introduced by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) on May 22, 2003 (H.R. 2239). This act would specifically address the problems associated with the touch screen voting machines. Whether Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, or other, all Americans should be concerned about this issue. Thank you for considering our request.



-Epoch
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