Reply #8: Conny sent objections to "paper trail" printer requirement

[Cronus Protagonist]

http://www.csac.counties.org/legislation/elections/vvpat_caceo.pdf

December 26, 2003
The Honorable Kevin Shelley
Secretary of State
1500 – 11th
Street, Suite 600
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Secretary Shelley:

Members of the California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials (CACEO) want to acknowledge the good working
relationship we have enjoyed over the years with the
professional staff of the Secretary of State’s Office.

-snip-

However, we are distressed by the lack of appropriate
communication between CACEO and yourself on important
issues facing California’s election officials. This includes, but
is not limited to, the development of implementation
guidelines for administering the provisions of the federal
Help America Vote Act (HAVA), HAVA funding allocation
decisions and your recent unilateral decision to mandate
voter verifiable paper audit trail (vvpat) printers on electronic
voting machines.

Note she uses the right wing lingo here - "voter verifiable paper audit trail" instead of "paper ballots"

The CACEO Officers have requested, first verbally and then
in writing, the opportunity to discuss with you personally the
topic of requiring vvpat on electronic-voting equipment
(reference President Ann Reed’s letter to you dated October
10, 2003). You have refused to do so. The leadership of
CACEO was concerned to find out, with one day’s notice,
that you had scheduled a press release on Friday,
November 21st, on vvpat even though proponents of vvpat
knew of your pending decision two weeks prior to your
announcement.

Page 2
The Honorable Kevin Shelley
December 26, 2003
Page 2 of 3

Your recent cancellations of your prescheduled regular monthly
conference calls with us, your failure to deal directly with us and your refusal to meet with us on major issues cannot do anything but result in uninformed actions on your part and subsequent future election administration problems.

Your Ad Hoc Touch Screen Task Force Report (July 1, 2003) contains
several viable options for addressing the goal of auditing Direct Recording Electronic Equipment (DRE’s). Given the opportunity, the leadership of CACEO would have pointed out that your mandates on vvpat found in paragraphs three and four of your November 21, 2003 letter to California Elections Officials ignores several major findings of your Task Force Report (pages five through seven). Simply stated, you have mandated, in a very short period of time, the implementation of a vvpat solution that is not currently certified in California. The certification process, which is under your control, may not be completed in time to meet your own mandated deadline.

We ask that you provide us with the opportunity to discuss major issue
with you in the future before you finalize your position. For the present, we request that you reconsider your vvpat decision. Again, we formally request a meeting with you to fully discuss the ramifications of your decision to require vvpat in California.

Sincerely,

(signed on page 3)
Executive Board Members
CACEO
:ceb
Page 3
The Honorable Kevin Shelley
December 26, 2003
Page 3 of 3
CACEO Executive Board Members:
s/Ann Reed
s/Conny B. McCormack
__________________________ ___________________________
Ann Reed
Conny B. McCormack
President
Vice
President
s/Stephen Weir
s/Kathleen Moran
___________________________ ___________________________
Stephen
Weir
Kathleen
Moran
Treasurer
Secretary