Sens. Push Law for Receipt of Votes Cast

[Beetwasher]

WASHINGTON - Two Democratic senators often mentioned as possible candidates for the vice presidential spot on the 2004 ticket talked voting Wednesday �Ebut not for themselves. Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites) of New York are pushing legislation that would ensure a printed receipt of votes cast on new touch-screen computer terminals, arguing it will restore voter confidence in the election process.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=548&e=1&u=/ap/clinton_graham

All I gotta say is, we very well may owe the very future of our country to a handful of people who are very well known on this site, we all know who they are, or should. Hero's one and all. Thank you.

[papau]

1. BBV paper trail has 2 great Senate Sponsors - Hillary was on cable

news tonight stating the paper trail position.

[patricia92243]

2. Hillary appeared to have a really nasty cold, but she was up there fightin

for us. Go Hillary!!

[hellbound-liberal]

3. We must all get involved in this critical issue!

Here is a link to the Senate's main page so we can all contact our Senators. Those of us in the D.C. area should call their offices as well. We have to let them know that we are watching!

http://www.senate.gov/

[BadGimp]

4. my 2 cents on the need for a paper trail

The receipt is obviously needed...

As long as there is a stored copy for each precinct.

also: 2 related points:

1) These machines need additional software modifications beyond the numerous security fixes.

They need to create a digital audit trail. A simple cash register creates a digital and paper audit log or Register listing in chronilogical order each transaction. These machines need to do the same. This digital paper trail that then can be matched to the paper ballot receipts.
Data Fields (examples - not inclusive:
- Transaction #
- Date and Time of transaction
- Items in transaction
- Transaction end time
- Customer/Voter # (if appropriate)

If this is not done there is not way to match the receipts to anything. No way a vote result will be overturned if the only evidence is a hand tally of printed receipts.

Not sure if this is already a component of the efforts ongoing by BBV etal.

2) Above all - The software code that counts the votes must be public domain, open source or "something", so that no ONE person or persons is allowed to hold in secret or under copyright control the very mechanism that counts our votes.

How much more simple could it be?

How much is our Democracy worth?

[ParanoidPat]

5. Hillary's bill is rather weak.....

....contact your representatives and ask that they back Rush Holt's Bill HR 2239.

March 2, 2004

STATEMENT

ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES EXPERIENCE
PROBLEMS ON SUPER TUESDAY

REP. RUSH HOLT CALLS ON CONGRESS TO ACT IMMEDIATELY TO PASS H.R. 2239 TO REQUIRE ALL VOTING MACHINES TO PRODUCE A VOTER VERIFIED PAPER TRAIL

Washington, DC - Rep. Rush Holt reacts to press reports that many electronic voting machines used in today's Democratic primaries had technical difficulties.

"Unless Congress deals with this problem immediately by requiring voting machines to produce a paper record that voters can verify, we're going to have more of these problems each time we have an election, including this November," said Rep. Rush Holt. "The only question is how long it will take before voters lose faith in a system that they thought was being fixed?"

Overall, some 10 million people in at least two-dozen states were expected to cast electronic ballots in primaries this year. In November, at least 50 million people will vote on touch-screens, compared with 55 million using paper, punch cards or lever machines, according to Washington-based Election Data Services.

Rep. Rush Holt introduced legislation last May, The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 (HR 2239), which would require all voting machines to produce an actual paper record by 2004 that voters can view to check the accuracy of their votes and that election officials can use to verify votes in the event of a computer malfunction, hacking, or other irregularity. The legislation currently has more than 120 bipartisan cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives, but the House Leadership has not yet scheduled a hearing on the bill. Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) introduced a companion bill in the Senate this past December.


Contact your representatives NOW if you haven't already. :) We CAN do this folks! BELIEVE IT!