Ensigns 109th Congress Bill, VIVA, is Introduced

[Wilms]

Thanks to Dzika for posting this on the Daily Thread:

Bill proposes e-voting paper trail

By Declan McCullagh

CNET News.com

February 10, 2005, 8:32 AM PT

Voting machines must include a verifiable paper trail and audit capability in time for the 2006 elections, according to a bill introduced this week in Congress.

The legislation requires states to follow a stricter set of federal rules that are designed in large part to respond to a wave of concerns about the electronic voting machines used in November's election.

-snip-

The measure applies only to e-voting machines such as touch-screen, lever-voting and optical-scanning systems. It would not affect punch card systems, paper ballots, or mail-in and absentee ballots.

Called the Voting Integrity and Verification Act, the bill says states must allow the "voter to review an individual paper version of the voter's ballot before the voter's ballot is cast and counted." The paper ballot, typically viewed under glass, would become a "permanent paper record" that must be preserved in case of a recount.

-snip/more-

<http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5571030.html>


Here's the pdf:

<http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politechbot.com%2Fdocs%2Fvoting.integrity.act.021005.pdf&siteId=22&oId=2100-3513-5571030&ontId=3513&lop=nl.ex>

[dandrhesse]

1. Ensign is also Nevada right? He and Harry Reid?

That is nice to see a Republican that at least has a flicker of a conscience, good for him.

[Bill Bored]

2. Looks good. Takes immediate effect. Paper is the ballot of record.

Same as last year's bill I think. The bit about "in a private and independent manner" could apply to the use of the Automark by the disabled.

It doesn't have a number yet though.

And of course, other reforms are needed.

[Zan_of_Texas]

3. THIS IS THE BILL, folks!

This is VIVA 2005, introduced by Senator Ensign. (It's co-sponsored by Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid.)


Has a number now. S. 330

Call the US Capitol Switchboard:
[phone] and ask to speak to your Senator. After that, call and ask to speak to your OTHER Senator. The whole exercise will take less than 5 minutes.

Ask them to co-sponsor the bill.

Here's why it's the best bill of the lot right now. (It's not the final answer, but it's a good start.)

Voting, and having everyone's vote count, is the bedrock of our democracy. If it doesn't work, we are in deep trouble.

Right now, 30% of Americans vote with electronic voting equipment that has no independent paper record. Thus, in the event of a problem and a recount, there is nothing to check -- all the machine can do is REPRINT the same information. If the machine got it wrong (and hundreds of them did, documented, in November 2004), the mistake may not be corrected, or they may have to run the election again. (In Carteret County NC officials are STILL arguing about a November election in which the machine lost several thousand votes, and the law will probably force them to run the election again.)

Without a paper record that the voter verifies while they vote, flaws or fraud can go undetected. The losing candidate may seem to get more votes, and take office. In one analysis of the 2000 presidential election, a flip of just one vote per voting machine across the country could have changed dozens of electoral votes. In Ohio in November 2004, flipping just 14 votes per precinct, in HALF the precincts in Ohio, would have reversed the declared winner, and Kerry would have won Ohio. So, small errors or vote manipulations can result in big differences.

VIVA 2005 will require that:

<> Voters be able to verify the accuracy of their ballot "in a private and independent manner" by allowing the voter to review an individual paper version of the "voter's ballot" before the "voter's ballot" is cast and counted.

<> All electronic records produced by any voting system will be consistent with the paper records.

<> In the event of any inconsistencies or irregularities between any electronic records and paper records, the voter verified paper record is considered the true and correct record of the votes cast.

<> The paper ballots be used as the official record for the purpose of any recount or audit, conducted with respect to any election for Federal Office.

The bill is tightly focused and strong, addressing these points only. The provisions will take effect as if they had been included in the enactment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, that is, in time for the 2006 general election.



For more up-to-date analysis of the various bills, you can go to http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?list=type&type=43

One can argue for Holt's reintroduced bill.

One can hope Conyers' bill's faults get fixed.

One can hope Dodd's bill gets thrown in the trash.

One can WAIT for Hillary's bill to show up, rather than a plea for petition signatures with no text for the bill anywhere to be found.

But while we're waiting for all that, please give a :kick: to Ensign's bill.

[Bill Bored]

4. Finally, a number! nt

[Bill Bored]

5. kick for Andy Stephenson! nt