letter to the editor, 11/11

[Laura Price <laura@xxxxxxxxx>]

There is a wonderful letter to the editor in the Camera today that echoes many 
of our sentiments.  Not sure if Donna Rhodes is involved with CVV, but thought 
I should share this piece...laura.

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/letters_to_editor/article/0,1713,BDC_2491_2417818
,00.html

VOTING 

Electronic systems vulnerable to fraud 

I challenge the Daily Camera to do some real investigative journalism, to be 
bold, question authority, and uncover the truth about the push for computerized 
voting in the next major election. It is possible that the greatest voter fraud 
in American history is set to take place in the next presidential election, and 
it will make the last one seem trivial in comparison, unless we citizens do 
something about it. 

The "Help America Vote Act" has mandated that all 50 states must have 
computerized voting machines for the 2004 election and Boulder officials are in 
the process of selecting ours. On the surface it appears to make voting much 
easier, but it makes fraud much easier too. The law does not require a printout 
or ballot of our vote and the computer manufacturers are discouraging the use 
of this available technology. Why would anyone be against a verifiable paper 
trail, a check system of sorts? Here are just a few of the problems encountered 
in 2002. 

In Scurry County, Texas two Republicans won by a landslide when polls had been 
predicting the Democratic candidates to win by a large margin. The county clerk 
demanded a recount both manually and electronically using a new computer chip 
and indeed the Democrats did win. A faulty chip was to blame that counted 
Democratic votes as Republican. They did not demand a recount in Comal County, 
Texas when three Republican candidates received the exact same number of votes ?
 18,181. How likely is this coincidence? 

In Georgia, the first state to use all-electronic voting, a Republican governor 
was voted into office; the first one since the end of the Civil War, and pre-
election polls showed the Democratic candidate to be in the lead. 

Voters in Florida reported touching the screen to vote for the Democratic 
candidate for governor and having the computer screen show that they had voted 
for the Republican incumbent, Jeb Bush. 

In Nebraska, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel was the former CEO of ES&S, the 
voting machine manufacturer that supplied all the voting machines for the state 
of Nebraska. For more information on this subject check out 
www.blackboxvoting.com. 

Talk to our local officials about their options in selecting a computerized 
voting machine for us. Get informed, demand a verifiable paper trail and make 
your vote count! 

DONNA RHODES, Boulder