CT Scraps RFP for DRE Voting Machines!

[truckin]

SOS Susan Bysiewicz has decided not to make an award to any of the three finalists that issued proposals to replace CT's lever machines with DREs. The final 3 companies were Diebold, Avante and Danaher. Let's hope the next RFP includes options for other technologies, like Optical Scan with ballot marking devices.

Apparantly CT will use lever machines again in 2006:

"That means Connecticut voters will use the old, mechanical lever machines
for statewide elections in November. In the meantime, the state plans to
contact all voting machine companies across the country and ask them to
apply or reapply to provide new machines.

Bysiewicz said she hopes that new electronic voting machines will be in
place for the 2007 election."

The full article:

http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-04125217.apds.m0558.bc-ct--vo

[Ian David]

1. OMFG! n/t

[Jane Austin]

2. Arrgghh! Can't make sense of so many initials!

It's not just you. I've been noticing lately I have no idea what these subject lines mean with so many abreviations, many of which could be a couple of different things.

[Kelvin Mace]

7. Here you go

CT - Connecticut
RFP - Request for proposal (used to solicit bids)
DRE - Direct Record Electronics (technically any machine that records votes electronically, but generally means paperless touch screen (TS) systems.

[Jane Austin]

8. Thanks.

Wish it didn't take an explanatory post to decipher subject lines, though.

Thanks for helpiong me out on this one.

[Wilms]

3. Levers in November.

Who would have thought.

[truckin]

4. This link to the article will work:

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ap-voting-machines-0104,0,3213743.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

[FogerRox]

9. freakin SOOOOOoooo awesome--- levers in November

[Wilms]

5. bradblog has it, too.

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002234.htm

GD Discussion
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x52139

[kster]

6. Kick.n.recommended.

Oops, I duped this. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407762

[Bill Bored]

10. Vive la resistance! nt

[garybeck]

11. opscans

opscans are not much better. let's not propgate the illusion that the problem is solved by going form DRE to opscan. in both cases, an proprietary computer counts the votes in secret. if we don't take care of that problem, we haven't accomplished much.

[Bill Bored]

12. So how's that random auditing coming along in VT Gary? nt

[garybeck]

13. slowly

I was interviewed on the radio today and had an opportunity to get the word out. we have a small group of people, haven't really had our first meeting. the good news is some of the people involved here are the same people who got our 2004 law passed that banned DREs. Unfortunately we ended up with Diebold scanners instead. So we have some "veterans" of the cause on board. But we have to act fast if we have a chance of getting audits or something like that before this Nov.

hopefully i'll have good news to report in vt sometime, but not much to say now. we need more people to get involved.