Back to square one in Iowa

[CornField]

Just an update for anyone who has an interest:

The Iowa House Republicans stalled a bill -- passed unanimously by the Iowa Senate last spring & calling for verifiable paper trails for all voting machines -- for as long as they could. When they realize citizens weren't going to allow the issue to drop, they tacked on a partisan voter ID issue.

This new legislative monster (VPT and voter ID) passed the Iowa House on party lines tonight and has been messaged to the Iowa Senate. If the legislation remains as-is and retains the voter ID clauses, the governor will veto. We are now urging to the Senate to remove the voter ID portions of the legislation, pass it once again and send it back to the House once again (where it will, no doubt, be stalled once again).

I'm so frustrated...

[CoffeeCat]

1. Thank you for the update...

...this is so important.

I wish our Secretary of State--and candidate for Gov, Chet Culver--would speak out about this.
Maybe he has, and I just haven't heard it.

I appreciate your hard work on this. I hear your frustration, and I share it too.

There is still hope though. Because of people like you--this isn't over.

[Land Shark]

2. I heard there was a decent show on U of Iowa NPR station today

[CornField]

5. Yeah, we've got a small grassroots effort beating drums pretty loudly

On WSUI yesterday morning tha group went on the air to discuss why VPT are needed and to encourage citizens to call their reps about removing the voter ID. The group is Iowans for Voting Integrity.

[Wilms]

7. And it can be heard...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=418270&mesg_id=418282

[EFerrari]

3. Hang in, CornField. We're all frustrated.

But, things seem to be breaking our way.

It's a war of attrition.

[AndyTiedye]

4. They Are?

About the only thing that is breaking our way are the public opinion polls,
and Diebold trumps those any day.

[EFerrari]

6. I think they are. The machines are failing all over and

this is getting reported much more than it was. More people are understanding how vulnerable that equipment is. Heck, I almost understand it. :)

In that respect, we've come a long way since November 2004. And time is on our side in the long term. When all those HAVA machines are installed and the "glitches" multiply, we'll get another big boost.

That's what I meant. :hi:

[AndyTiedye]

9. Our Only Real Hope Derives From the Incompetence of Diebold's Programmers

The fact that their machines STEAL VOTES has not stopped them from being certified,
or caused certification to be revoked.

It is only the fact that they CRASH all the time that gives us a tiny window to
possibly save our democracy.


Republican Electing Machinez

[EFerrari]

10. I understand and don't mean to sound flippant about this in any way.

I think that Guv's "no confidence" framing and the issue of opacity in our elections WILL gain traction.

I have to.

[Land Shark]

8. And just when the night seems darkest, the NYT editorializes and says

all states should follow Maryland and dump DREs, and "common sense is starting to prevail"

see link today in election forum on NYT and Maryland.
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263>

[Bill Bored]

11. Don't despair

Some kind of voter ID law is necessary because of HAVA, but HAVA only requires ID for first-time voters that didn't show ID when they registered. If that's what the bill says, it's just HAVA compliance. If it goes further than that, it could be a big problem! Also, make sure there is random auditing in the paper trail part, otherwise it's useless. And you'll need some means by which full hand recounts can be obtained. Glad your gov. will veto the worst of this legislation. That might help. Don't give up!