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Here in Vermont we do not have the right to introduce legislation through a citizen based initiative process. But in half the other states, this is a right of all citizens.
I've been trying to keep on top of things but I have not heard of or seen any citizen based state initiatives regarding evoting, paper trails/ballots, audits, open source, etc...
This seems like a perfect way to get some good legislation introduced and passed, for the states that allow it. I think in most cases, it would be fairly easy to get enough signatures when the issue is increasing security and accuracy of elections. And once the issue is on the ballot, it would be hard for me to imagine it being voted down by the public (of course unless the machines are used to count the votes, but that's another story...).
The only ones I've heard of were the ones in Ohio that were voted down (yes, using the machines). KUDOS to Ohio citizens for trying.
Tell me, are there such initiatives in other states that I didn't notice? Or are they in the works for the coming elections? ARe people trying to get them on the ballot now?
If I lived in a state that allowed citizen ballot initiatives, I would be directing much if not most of my effort towards this. It's one of the only ways I can think of that we can cut through all the BS and improve the system, directly.
If we are not doing it already, we should use this right in every state where it exists. There should be a coordinated effort to make sure that a group in every state is giving serious thought to it.
"normal" legislation requires an elected official to introduce a bill, and the state legislature will probably water it down and who knows if it will pass. But citizen initiatives circumvent the process and puts the power in the hands of the people. Is this not the exact avenue we should be using to try to improve our election systems?
Are we missing the ball?
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