Making Every Vote Count (Gov. Bill Richardson)

[Sapphire Blue]

Making Every Vote Count
Bill Richardson
March 02, 2006

(Excerpt)

Recent elections would suggest that democracy, the greatest system of government in the world, can be broken. As the world witnessed in 2000, the sanctity of the ballot box and the integrity of our government are vulnerable. The people of the United States lost faith in the electoral process, and the covenant between citizens and elected officials deteriorated. Those national officials scrambled to pass legislation to restore voter confidence, but in 2004, inaccurate exit polls raised further doubts about electronic voting machines without a verifiable paper record.

In New Mexico, a coalition of concerned citizens demanded action. Working together with these citizens and the state legislature, I signed several laws which guarantee that every ballot is counted. New Mexico improved and standardized training for poll workers. We established statewide standards for provisional ballots to ensure that voters in low-income areas will not disenfranchised. We made absentee voting fair, simple and uniform.

And we took one more critical step to ensure one person, one vote.

On March 2, 2006, I will sign a bill that will transition New Mexico to an all paper-ballot system using optical scanners to count the vote. Paper ballots are the least expensive, most secure form of voting available. Having marked their votes with pen and paper, voters will walk out of the booth and know their voices have been heard. Optical scanners will quickly and accurately provide results, while in the event of a recount, the ballots themselves will be a permanent, verifiable record of the people’s directions to their government.

Continued @ http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/02/making_every_vote_count.php

[Greeby]

1. Woot

If only every Democratic governor would do that :bounce:

[Joanne98]

2. Finally!

[Joanne98]

3. I like this paragraph

Some believe that computer touch screen machines are the future of electoral systems, but the technology simply fails to pass the test of reliability. As anyone who uses one can attest, computers break down, get viruses, lose information, and corrupt data. We know this to be the case, and so we back-up our files to ensure nothing important is lost. Paper ballots serve as the ultimate back-up for our elections, providing secure and permanent verification of the will of the people

[karynnj]

4. Why didn't he back a recount in 2004 in NM?

[Emit]

5. That was my first thought after reading this n/t

[Tiggeroshii]

6. Governor in Maryland has already done this, right?

Looks like one state at a time. Get to it guys!