Infromation on election machine security Urgent EASY action needed now

[Guest guest]

There is no news and no issue that is more important than protecting the

integrity of our elections. This is urgent! It can't wait. The decisions are

being made now. Each state is deciding upon new elections systems to comply

with

HAVA regulations. They must have a plan by the end of this month to get

Federal funding. If your state does not yet require a Voter Verified Paper

Record

with mandatory random audit, please act now to protect the security of

elections or your state may be the next Ohio or Florida. If you are from PA,

there is a site link with an easy action with prepared letter to congress

people.

If from another state you can still go there to ask for support of the

National Bill HR 550.

 

Visit _http://votersunite.org/_ (http://votersunite.org/) to dispel myths

about HAVA and learn important, under-publicized facts about electronic voting

issues.

 

Please go to _http://www.votersunite.org/info/ES & Sinthenews.pdf_

(http://www.votersunite.org/info/ES & Sinthenews.pdf)

so you will be aware of all the votes that have been lost on electronic

election systems.

 

 

Please read in the link below, how the nonpartisan Government Accountability

Office (GAO) report raises and confirms serious questions about the security

of electronic voting machines. After understanding the problems covered in

this report, I hope you will encourage your County to safe guard our votes

with voter verified paper record.

_http://www.coalitionforvotingintegrity.org/_

(http://www.coalitionforvotingintegrity.org/)

 

Please go to this site and read about why we need voter verified paper

records.

_http://www.votepa.us/forms/lever-county-VVPR-flyer.pdf_

(http://www.votepa.us/forms/lever-county-VVPR-flyer.pdf)

 

Report on a Survey of Changes in Total Annual Expenditures

for Florida Counties Before and After Purchase of Touch Screens:

A Comparison of Total Annual Expenditures for Touch Screens and Optical

Scanners. _http://www.votersunite.org/info/costcomparisonextended.asp_

(http://www.votersunite.org/info/costcomparisonextended.asp)

 

IF you are from PA , please act upon this today! They may vote this week.

 

Please go to _http://www.votepa.us/_ (http://www.votepa.us/) for easy

actions to encourage state Senators to vote for bills that require voter

verified

paper record. It only takes a few minutes. Add " as written " or with no

changes so they don't try to add requiring picture ID which many old and poor

don't have. (It is expensive and difficult to get.) They may try to combine

the

bad things in HB1318 with the good things in HB 2000 and SB 977. It could

happen this Tuesday.

 

 

.. Spread the word to your state reps and senators that we do NOT support the

measures in these bills such as Photo ID, disenfranchisement of people who

have paid their debt to society, fines / jail for minor mistakes by

pollworkers, and other bad things.

 

 

PENNSYLVANIA:

to support passing HB 2000 & SB 977 as written

Tell your Pennsylvania State Rep and State Senator that you want a voter

verified paper record of every vote with at least a 5% mandatory random manual

audit of every election.

 

NATIONAL:

to support passing HR 550 as written

Tell Congress that all America wants open and fair elections with voter

verified paper records and a meaningful audit.

 

 

 

Contact information for those selecting election systems at each county cabe

found at

_http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/cwp/view.asp?a=1195 & q=443005 & votingNav=%7C_

(http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/cwp/view.asp?a=1195 & q=443005 & votingNav=|)

 

Please go to this site and read about problems in PA with electronic voting

machines. _http://www.votepa.us/forms/PA_VOTING_MACHINE_PROBLEMS.pdf_

(http://www.votepa.us/forms/PA_VOTING_MACHINE_PROBLEMS.pdf)

 

 

To to votePA, send an email to: _votePA- _

(votePA- )

 

 

 

Here are suggestions from Ellen who wrote Myth Breakers on how PA can best

handle our election problems:

 

" With PA's particular problem, I think there are three realistic solutions.

1) opscans and the AutoMark

2) AccuPoll, but don't regard the electronic vote as an official ballot.

Instead, offer a barcode reader in the booth that allows the voter to verify

the

barcode and then scan the barcode to get the official vote totals. In other

words, use the AccuPoll as a ballot-marking device, not a DRE.

3) opscans, hand-counted paper ballots, and the Vote-PAD (which is now being

examined for approval in Minnesota and Wisconsin) _www.vote-pad.us_

(http://www.vote-pad.us/) .

Ellen Theisen "

 

Here is information about Ellen:

US Voting Specialist and Lead Data Analyst: Ellen Theisen, Voters Unite,

Port Ludlow, Washington

Ellen Theisen has a B.A. in Mathematics, M.A. in Religious History, and is

the founder and Executive Director of VotersUnite! In her 22-year career as a

software technical writer, she has written hundreds of user manuals,

functional and design specifications, online help systems, and programmer

guides. She

has become a central node for information-sharing in a loose network of

citizen groups across the country. Early in 2004, Ellen wrote " Myth Breakers

for

Election Officials " to dispel myths about HAVA and inform decision-makers of

important, under-publicized facts about electronic voting issues. The

document has been distributed to thousands of federal, state, and local

decision-

makers. The document has also been included as testimony in three court cases

regarding electronic voting issues. "

 

 

 

Here are suggestions from Warren Stewart

 

" ES & S precinct based optical scans with one AutoMark per polling place for

disabled voters. If they have to have a DRE (and some of them are determined

to) then AccuPoll with the VVPAT turned off until the legislature gets around

to passing HB 2000/S 977. Its a DRE, but its the best of the lot and they have

disclosed their software. The printer produces a legible archive qualified

ballot instead of the thermal paper toilet rolls that the Edge and AccuVote

have. WINVote is by far the worst choice in PA currently (thoug Diebold's

pretty close.

 

We have lots of information on the cost benefits of Opscans over DREs on our

site - $$ are always the best argument with election officials.

 

Best

Warren

 

 

Here is some information about Warren:

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Don't Let Congress Use the Carter-Baker Report to Make Vote Verification

Meaningless

by Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy,