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Last November, after voting machine errors stymied elections across the country (most notably in Florida’s 13th district where 18,000 votes were lost), Common Cause activists sent more than 50,000 messages to their Senators demanding legislation to GetItStraightby2008.
Now, with the new Congress in session and setting priorities, we need to make sure that your representative hears the same message loud and clear.
A “paper trail” bill which would mandate that safeguards be placed on electronic voting machines to protect against failure or tampering will be introduced this month. The bill is sponsored by Representative Rush Holt, and it would go a long way in making our voting machines secure and accurate. But its success depends on the support it wins from other lawmakers this month.
Take action!
The new Congress has already begun work on a number of vital issues, like new ethics rules and an increase in the minimum wage. But we need to make sure that your representative makes repairing our election system a priority by co-sponsoring the Holt bill today.
Congressman Holt’s bill, if passed, would:
- Require all voting systems to use or produce a paper ballot. This way, voters can make sure their vote was recorded accurately, and ballots can be stored in case recounts are needed.
- Require election officials to conduct random audits. By comparing paper records to electronic tallies, problems with the machines’ counting functions will be discovered.
- Require that the source code inside the computer be open for inspection. The source code should belong to the public, not the voting machine companies.
We need to pass this bill, and now is the time. Make sure every vote counts from here on out.
Tell your representative to co-sponsor Congressman Holt’s “paper trail” bill.
Together, we can GetItStraightby2008.
Thank you for your work.
Sincerely,
Barbara Burt and Susannah Goodman
Common Cause Election Reform Team
Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, Ballot issues, Books, election, elections, Electronic Voting, New York State Politics, reform, US Politics, video Tagged: | book of the month, UFPJ
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