From: Scotty Allen <scotty@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: November 18, 2003 3:58:31 PM MST To: Chris Riddoch <Christopher.Riddoch@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Announcement about Citizen's for Verifiable Voting meeting
Hi Chris,
Sorry this took longer than I promised. Such is the nature of short time schedules and collectively run groups:)
Anyway, below is what I would propose to send out to the blug-announce list. Note that the meeting place has changed from somewhere on the CU campus to the Boulder Coop community room, due to not being able to find another suitable place. It's actually a merging of what was a Coop organized informational event, and a CCV meeting. Note that being in the coop community room means no wireless (AFAIK, anyway). The meeting is going to be split into two parts: informational and organization, so if people just want information, they can take off after the first half and go do their own thing at Cafe Sole or whatever, or they can stick around and get involved.
Let me know if you have any questions.
On a related note, do you have any thoughts on any other groups that might be interested in hearing about this? I was thinking CLUE and RMIUG, but that's as far as I got...
Thanks again,
Scotty 303-910-8434 scotty@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
---
Subject: Closed source electronic voting in Boulder (Informational meeting Thurs 11/20)
Boulder County is currently in the process of selecting an electronic voting system, with a decision to be made in the next two months.
All four systems currently under consideration use closed-source software that is not open to review, neither by government officials, nor citizens. All four systems write votes directly to computer storage, and none as currently proposed allow for a paper record that is verified by the voter(and only one even has the possibility of doing so). There would be no way to ensure your vote was recorded properly, and nothing to go back to in the event of a malfunction or discrepancy.
There is serious concern that the systems are vulnerable not only to error, but also to fraud. 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.
In addition, federal standards for certifying these new voting systems have not been completed, and thus, a purchase at this point would be irresponsible, as the final version of the standards could require changes to any systems purchased now (or even the purchase of entirely new systems).
What can you do to help?
- Come and learn more about the issues, at the next Citizens for Verifiable Voting meeting this Thursday 11/20/2003 7-9pm, Boulder Co-Op Market Commons Room, 19th & Pearl, Boulder, CO. The first half of this meeting will be an educational forum about the issues surrounding electronic voting on a local, state, and national level. The second half will be devoted to discussing the current progress of CVV, as well as the next steps that should be taken. Those that are just interested in learning more about the issues are welcome to attend just the first portion of the meeting. CCV's Citizen's Statement is online at http://bcv.booyaka.com. The CCV mailing list can be joined by sending an email to bcv-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Call your house representative today, and ask them to co-sponsor bill HR 2239. HR 2239 requires the use of open source software, extends the time period for local governments to purchase new voting equipment and still receive federal funding under HAVA(this is part of the reason for Boulder County's current decision deadline), mandates a voter-verified paper trail, prohibits the use of wireless technology in voting systems, and requires a hand counted check of .5% of all votes in each precinct be used to verify the correct operation of the machine count. Mark Udall is _not_ currently a cosponsor for HR 2239. The bill is currently stuck in committee, and will not pass if it does not come to vote on the floor in the next two weeks.
- Asks your friends to call their representatives and ask them to co-sponsor HR 2239.
- Contact the Boulder County Commissioners (commissioners@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) and the County Clerk Elections Dept
(llathrop@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) to express your concerns, and ask them to delay selection of a vendor
until standards are completed and the technology risks have been explored.
Help us make sure everyone's vote is counted properly and fairly.
Sincerely,
Scotty Allen