Join the Paper Ballot Campaign Launched Today by Dozens of Election Integrity Groups!

[emlev]

from Velvet Revolution Election Protection Strike Force

Paper Ballot Campaign Letter Specifies 'Paper Ballots,' Not 'Paper Records' or 'Paper Trails'

Groups Seek Your Endorsement--Email your Senators and Representative from this link

VoterAction.org, VotersUnite.org, VelvetRevolution.us, National Voting Rights Institute, Demos, TrueMajorityAction and the Dolores Huerta Foundation, along with dozens of other election integrity groups across the nation, today call upon Congress to introduce and enact legislation ensuring a paper ballot for every vote cast in the United States in time for the 2008 election. This legislation could take the form of an amended version of Rep. Rush Holt's bill known as HR-550, which is currently being rewritten for re-introduction in the new Congress.

While many changes to the U.S. election system are needed, we believe that a paper ballot for every vote cast is an absolutely unassailable requirement of any election reform. This is why we have launched the Paper Ballot Campaign.

We've set up an easy way for you to endorse the Paper Ballot Campaign. Click here to email your Senators and Representative.

Full text of letter is at this link.

Here is the list of organizations that signed the letter:
VoterAction.org
VotersUnite.org
VelvetRevolution.us
National Voting Rights Institute
Demos
TrueMajorityAction
Dolores Huerta Foundation

Broward Election Reform Coalition
California Election Protection Network
Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota
Coalition for Voting Integrity - Pennsylvania
Coloradoans For Voting Integrity
Commonweal Institute
Election Defense Alliance
Florida Fair Elections Coalition
Gathering To Save Our Democracy - TennesseeVotePA
Georgians for Verified Voting
Iowans for Voting Integrity
Mainstreet Moms (theMMOB.org)
N.C. Coalition for Verified Voting
Network of Citizens
New Yorkers for Verified Voting
Oregon Voter Rights Coalition
ProgressiveActionAlliance.org
Palm Beach Coalition for Election Reform
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections - Florida
SAVEOurVotes.org - Maryland
Texas Safe Voting
TrueVoteMD
Verifiable Voting Coalition of Virginia
Verify The Vote Indiana
Virginia Verified Voting
VoteAllegheny
VoteRescue of Texas
Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay

[Pokey Anderson]

1. Here's the letter.

Here is the letter. http://www.velvetrevolution.us/Campaigns/PaperBallots/

December 14, 2006

Open Letter to all Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:

We, the undersigned non-partisan election integrity organizations, strongly urge you, as a first order of business in the 110th Congress, to enact new federal legislation to protect the integrity of our elections. While there are many areas of concern for any such legislation, none is more essential to the accuracy of our elections and the confidence among our electorate than for there to be a paper ballot for every vote cast. Not a paper "trail" or a paper "record," but a paper ballot.

In light of lessons learned during the 2006 primary and general elections -- with myriad contests resulting in uncertainty and thousands of voters in state after state turned away from the polls unable to cast a vote on DRE systems which failed throughout the day -- we now hold that a paper ballot, whether counted by optical-scan system or hand, is the minimum requirement for any Election Reform legislation in which voters may have confidence. Such a requirement is needed to help ensure Americans that every legally registered voter can vote, that every vote is recorded precisely as the voter intends, and that every vote is counted and, if necessary, re-counted accurately.

This year's elections have made crystal clear that electronic voting machines -- both those without paper ballots, such as Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) touch-screen systems, and even those with so-called "Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails" -- caused massive disruptions, undermined the results of crucial elections, and forced thousands of voters to leave the polls without being able to exercise their franchise.
Paper trails and paper records are not sufficient to safeguard elections and restore confidence among the electorate. Unless there is a paper ballot for every vote cast, three fundamental principles of democratic elections are violated:

1. Observable tallies. It is impossible for citizens to observe the counting of electronic ballots and audit the results.

2. Equal access. Requiring voters to cast votes on computers discriminates against those who are not familiar with the technology.

3. Accurate results. It is impossible to ensure that the reported results are accurate. In fact, a voter-verifiable paper audit trail cannot be depended on to provide the certainty lacking in electronic tallies. Clear evidence from several recent elections reveals instances in which:

o The electronic screen record did not reflect the voter's intent.

o The electronic count did not match the paper trail produced by the e-voting machine.

o The summary review screen did not match the paper trail produced by the e-voting machine.

o Voters did not know to verify the paper trail or were prevented from doing so by improper design, incorrect setup, or malfunction of the printer.

o Computer systems introduced unnecessary complexity into the entire election process and therefore increased the likelihood of errors by voters, poll workers, and election officials.

o Computerized voting relinquished control of the final outcome to the technical skills of those who programed the software.

While it is not easy to reconcile the money already spent on new DRE systems, it would be worse to continue using election equipment that is not accomplishing its critical task. If this were a public safety matter, no one would question the ban on the continued use of a dangerous product, even if it had been funded by billions of public dollars. Why should we act any differently when it comes to protecting the safety of our electoral process?

Ultimately, the true price of free, fair, reliable, accurate, and transparent elections in America cannot be judged by dollars alone.

We therefore urge you to immediately enact legislation which requires a paper ballot for every vote cast. Now is the moment for action, in time to take effect for the 2008 primaries and general election.

Respectfully yours,

The Undersigned

VoterAction.org
VotersUnite.org
VelvetRevolution.us
National Voting Rights Institute
Demos
TrueMajorityAction
Dolores Huerta Foundation

Broward Election Reform Coalition
California Election Protection Network
Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota
Coalition for Voting Integrity - Pennsylvania
Coloradoans For Voting Integrity
Commonweal Institute
Election Defense Alliance
Florida Fair Elections Coalition
Gathering To Save Our Democracy - TennesseeVotePA
Georgians for Verified Voting
Iowans for Voting Integrity
Mainstreet Moms (theMMOB.org)
N.C. Coalition for Verified Voting
Network of Citizens
New Yorkers for Verified Voting
Oregon Voter Rights Coalition
ProgressiveActionAlliance.org
Palm Beach Coalition for Election Reform
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections - Florida
SAVEOurVotes.org - Maryland
Texas Safe Voting
TrueVoteMD
Verifiable Voting Coalition of Virginia
Verify The Vote Indiana
Virginia Verified Voting
VoteAllegheny
VoteRescue of Texas
Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay

[Peace Patriot]

2. Venezuela hand-counts FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT of their ballots cuz they don't

trust the electronic voting machines. Why not us? Short-term measure for '08, if all else fails. 1: require paper ballot backup. 2. require a 55% hand-count, with totals posted BEFORE any electronics are involved.

This is what we should have done in the first place. And it is only $3.9 billion in HAVA boondoggle e-voting contract corruption that is preventing us from throwing these machines into 'Boston Harbor,' where they belong. So, let them keep their corruption, for the moment. JUST COUNT THE DAMN VOTES!

I would have said 100% handcount. But I'll go with Venezuela's percentage. They seem like pretty smart people.

[emlev]

3. Thanks for your support!

[truedelphi]

5. Agreed. But can't you just hear the Whine campaign

That the media will invent - that now the public will lose the "timeliness"
so important to an election count

[Peace Patriot]

9. I want to add that I TOTALLY SUPPORT THIS CAMPAIGN FOR PAPER BALLOTS!

And this is a fabulous list of endorsing groups. They are targeting a specific issue, the FUNDAMENTAL need for a PAPER BALLOT backup for all elections. This is a specific goal of this campaign. They are not trying to solve all problems, and address all voting issues. They are to trying re-introduce auditability and recountability in an election system that right now often has neither. This is a BASIC requirement of election integrity. A "paper trail" or "paper record" is insufficient. The phrase "PAPER BALLOT" means that the paper vote takes precedence over electronic totals in any dispute; it has special legal standing as the vote of record. We must have a PAPER BALLOT and nothing else. And you KNOW, when bureaucrats and politicians start using phrases like "Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail"--to mean "ballot"--something funny's going on. Beware! PAPER BALLOT. Clear. Simple. Real. Accept no substitutes.

And if y'all want to ADD your own language about audits and other requirements of election integrity, you can do that when you sign this letter! (There is a box for it at the Velvet Revolution "Open Letter" sign-on page!)

I urge everyone to SIGN THIS LETTER and get it around to your lists right away. The language of election protection bills is being written NOW. Insist on a PAPER BALLOT required everywhere in the nation!

It takes a huge amount of work to get a petition like this together, and such a great coalition--all on the same page, all working hard on this fundamental requirement. DO YOU PART! Sign it! Send it around!

I don't want people to misconstrue my comments about auditing, here and below, to in any way mean that I don't support this campaign. I enthusiastically support it! All I'm saying is there is more that needs to be done--and I'm sure these groups are working on all those issues as well. Just wanted to get my two cents in--since I just learned about Venezuela's audit. It seems so sensible!

[emlev]

11. Thanks for that glowing endorsement! EOM

[philb]

4. Are opti-scan included in this definition of paper ballots?

There is a record on paper that can be hand counted as needed.
And imo there should be a regular hand count of a random sample of precincts,
as well as a process to allow for hand counts(at a cost) where parties desire.

[truedelphi]

6. Hand count 10% of random precincts

And include those counties that have OptiScan as well

[emlev]

8. Here's what the letter says about that

"In light of lessons learned during the 2006 primary and general elections -- with myriad contests resulting in uncertainty and thousands of voters in state after state turned away from the polls unable to cast a vote on DRE systems which failed throughout the day -- we now hold that a paper ballot, whether counted by optical-scan system or hand, is the minimum requirement for any Election Reform legislation in which voters may have confidence."

Text of letter is linked in my OP.

[Peace Patriot]

7. Some further thoughts:

What good is a paper ballot without an audit (count) of the paper ballots?

Some states have ZERO audit requirement. Zero! 0! *NO* AUDIT! The ballots NEVER get counted. The best states--the best!--have only a 1% audit (totally inadequate in this high-speed, "trade secret," proprietary environment--highly manipulable). Ballots therefore only get counted when there is suspicious result, and a recount. Recounts are extremely difficult to obtain, expensive and rare--and even then, the count is only in the 3% range. And that almost never happens.

The touchscreens (DREs) are criminally non-transparent, on their face. And they are programmed to change Democratic votes to Republican votes, and to disappear Democratic votes and Democratic candidates. There is so much evidence for this now, that any retention of DREs has to be considered a criminal enterprise.

The optiscans and central tabulators are not so obvious, but do contain all that is necessary to steal elections--and are perhaps even more dangerous than DREs, for their lower visibility as election theft systems. With zero audit, your ballot--whether optiscan paper ballot, or absentee ballot (most of which are scanned into the riggable electronics, and not hand-counted)--is worthless, unless there is a recount, which are very rare. With 1% audit, your ballot is nearly worthless, especially if the riggable electronics are used to choose where the audit occurs.

HR 550 mandates a 2% audit. This is still very, very inadequate. The only truly reliable system is a 100% handcount of paper ballots. Compare that gold standard to what HR 550 will achieve: highly riggabble electronic voting with only a 2% audit.

"The Help America Vote For War Act" of 2002 should be repealed! That Act was an act of treason! That WAS the fascist coup.

----------------------------------

But I'm all for WHATEVER WE CAN GET by way of verification AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I do understand that this is the Diebold II Congress--for all its Democratic trappings. It could be decades before we have truly transparent elections again. But don't just call for a PAPER BALLOT. Also call for AN AUDIT that can detect fraud. (55% seems like a good idea.)

----------------------------------

I am impressed--very impressed!--with this list of election protection groups. I'll bet almost none of them existed at the end of 2004 (or were formed in December 2004!). The election reform movement has grown incredibly since that time--fired up by non-transparent electronic voting and its dubious results, and by egregious unfairness to minority voters. I am so proud of us! We here at DU had a lot to do with the birth and growth of this movement. Its success is essential to restoring democracy in the U.S., and to getting our country back, at one time the most progressive country on earth, the light of the world, and now dragged down to the level of a "banana republic," but a very powerful one, of great danger to the rest of the world. TRANSPARENT elections are the key to recovery--as South America is proving, in election after election.

Election integrity groups all over the country. All seeing the same problems. It is a wonder to behold. In the dark days of late 2004, I hoped that this would happen, but I really wasn't sure. How could Americans NOT revolt against non-transparent elections--election that are a mockery of democracy. Stalinist elections. I never thought it would happen here, and when it did--and nobody was noticing--I wasn't sure, I just wasn't sure, that the small group of late-night election analysts and bleary bloggers who DID see it, could ever be heard in the din from the Politburo.

Then, in these last midterms, half the voters in some states voted by Absentee Ballot--and AB voting was big all over the country--a full scale voter revolt against the machines. Next step (election integrity only a step away): COUNT the Absentee Ballots. Don't scan them. COUNT them. Not happening yet--but the future is arriving. The hoped for future. That all would see that we had lost our right to vote, and that we MUST get it back. We must.

[Peace Patriot]

12. One more plug for this petition--and profound thanks to Emlev for all this

work!

A PAPER BALLOT is the bottom-line. It is essential to all election integrity. The groups working on this campaign are up against entrenched corruption in achieving this fundamental requirement. They need our support. We shouldn't have to beg Congress for such a fundamental, no-brainer verification tool--but we do! That's the situation. Look at the Congress that just retired in ignominy! The new Congress has much to overcome and undo--many mountains to climb. It is not as strong as it should be. One of the reasons it isn't is non-transparent vote counting. In the Senate, we have a pro-war, pro-corporate Democrat, Diane Feinstein, heading the Senate committee on elections. I shudder to think what she might do to our voting system in the name of reform. It may well be tricky just to get a real paper ballot--let alone a decent audit.

So PLEASE, give these groups your signature, your network and your bucks, if you have them. They are doing the work! It is the most important work that needs to be done to save our country.

Also, work LOCALLY for election reform. Do not count on even a Democratic Congress to insure your right to vote. Get on your local officials! Be persistent! Demand a paper ballot! And, as to auditing, maybe start with lobbying for a handcount of the Absentee Ballot votes. I think we need to find our way around all the corruption connected to these big electronic voting contracts. If we can get the AB votes handcounted, it will snowball.

Thanks again to Emlev for this OP, and for all her incredible work on this issue, and to all the coalition groups, for giving us the opportunity to help this campaign!

[emlev]

13. Hey, your welcome, on behalf of myself and all the others, many

of whom have worked much harder on this particular campaign than I have. So far, anyway!

[emlev]

10. Hiding in Plain Sight--VotePA is on the list of endorsing organizations

Due to a missing line break, it's hiding at the end of Gathering to Save Our Democracy.

My apologies!

[Wilms]

14. K & R n/t

[impeach them]

15. Kucinich has introduced a bill for paper ballots

Don't any of the groups know about the Kucinich legislation?

HR 6200 -paper ballots, hand counted, results posted at precinct
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/10/02/18317344.php

[AikidoSoul]

16. Paper Ballots scanned on optical tabulators, random hand recount

It's the only way.

Actually, I'd prefer ALL the ballots counted by hand like they do in Scotland and the regional elections in Canada. It will never happen here so paper ballots with optical tabulation and random hand counts to verify outcome -- are essential.

It won't stop vote fraud -- but the SCALE of the fraud will be greatly reduced.

Hope.

K & R