Reply #12: Good for you acmejack! [View All]

[sonias]

First Kudos to Stan for the editorial of course and anyone else that helped. That would be you Smarty Pants Liberal, even if you didn't "attend". We know all of us are working to put some pressure on this issue.


acmejack, probably didn't see this but our own Dana actually went to Colorado to study VVPAT/VVPAB on August 8th. Her office release this statement:

Travis County Elections 8/7/2006 9:27 AM
Travis County Clerk - Elections Division
For Immediate Release: August 7, 2006
Contact: Mary Fero, 854-3293; 854-4996


County Clerk to Observe Paper Audit Trail System in Colorado


Austin-Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir will be in Colorado on Tuesday, August 8, for the Colorado Primary election. DeBeauvoir and two senior staff members from the County Clerk¹s Elections Division will observe Hart InterCivic's Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system in the metropolitan area south of Denver.


Colorado is among the first states to implement a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail on the Hart eSlate voting system, with more than 40 counties slated to use Hart¹s new VVPAT for the upcoming primary elections. Travis County is discussing the possibility of a voter verifiable paper audit system, which has not been certified and is not currently available anywhere in Texas.


To make this type of application work properly in Travis County, we will need clear, written procedures and extensive training of poll workers, said DeBeauvoir. We want to learn from other urban areas how best to make a voter-verified paper audit trail system successful here.


DeBeauvoir said the trip would provide an opportunity to observe voters and election judges in real-life situations. She also planned to discuss with election officials how best to audit the paper record.


We¹ll observe first-hand how voters handle the voter-verifiable paper audit trail system, DeBeauvoir said, adding that we're particularly interested in seeing how election judges manage the logistics of paper jams, explain the system to voters, and open and close the polls.


Following her return, DeBeauvoir said she will work with the local legislative delegation and the Texas Secretary of State to draft language for any necessary changes in law or procedure needed to bring a VVPAT system to Texas.


The eSlate system has been in use in Travis County since 2002, following its unanimous recommendation by a citizen advisory group and subsequent adoption by the Travis County Commissioners Court.


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Sonia