CVV - letter to the editor

[Chris Malley <cmalley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My last posting for the day (I promise ;-)

Here's a letter to the editor that I sent to the Daily Camera,
Colorado Daily, Boulder Weekly and Mountain-Ear.  Feel free to
plaguiarize.

-Chris


--
Electronic Voting in Boulder County

Boulder County is in the final stages of selecting a vendor for
electronic voting systems.  Selection may occur before the end
of this year, and these systems would be used in the 2004 elections.

Voters should be concerned. Selecting a vendor at this
point in time is both fiscally irresponsible and potentially damaging
to the democratic process.  It's fiscally irresponsible because
Federal standards for certifying these systems have not been completed.
It's dangerous because the technical risks associated with electronic
voting systems have not been fully explored.

A little backgound:

- After the 2000 presidential election fiasco, Congress passed HAVA
  (Help America Vote Act) in an effort to reform the voting process.
  HAVA-compliant systems must be in place by 2006, but the definition
  of "HAVA-compliant" has not been completed.

- There are many problems with electronic voting systems.  They are
  computer based, with potential for security violations, election fraud,
  inability to do manual recounts, etc.

- Other states (e.g, GA, FL, CA, TX, NE) have had "incidents" with
  electronic voting systems, ranging from election procedure violations
  to possible election fraud.

- The major vendors are headed by ex-CIA, ex-military brass, lobbists and
  others with serious political bias and conflict of interest.  Two major
  vendors are defense contractors (Lockheed and Northrup), and two are
  based outside the US (Accenture and Sequoia).

If you are concerned about this issue, please consider getting
involved with Citizens for Verifiable Voting. CVV is a
Boulder County non-partisan organization. Their next meeting
is Thurs 11/20/2003.  For time and location, see their website
at http://bcv.booyaka.com.

In the meantime, please contact the Boulder County Commissioners
(commissioners@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) and the County Clerk Elections Dept
(llathrop@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx). Tell them to delay selection of a vendor
until standards are completed and the technology risks have been explored.

--
Chris Malley
PixelZoom, Inc.             Voice: +1.303.494.8849
835 Orman Drive             EMail: cmalley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boulder CO 80303-2616         Web: http://www.pixelzoom.com