Fwd: EVOTING: Concerned About Colorado? Must Act by Monday Noon!

["Joe Pezzillo" <jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Joe Pezzillo" <jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx>
> Date: February 20, 2004 12:01:06 PM MST
> To: "Joe Pezzillo" <jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: EVOTING: Concerned About Colorado? Must Act by Monday Noon!
>
>
> Friday 2/20/2004
>
> Greetings!
>
> Many of you know that I've been working with a local ad hoc group called Citizens for Verifiable Voting actively opposing electronic voting in Boulder County for a few months now, and many of you have also shared your deep concerns about this issue with me, too. Background on CVV's work is online at http://www.coloradovoter.net, but in short, after dozens of us have been researching this issue for some time from both legal and technological perspectives, we've joined with thousands of Computer Professionals and Security Researchers nationwide to oppose recording votes electronically, and have called for voter verified Paper Ballots as the official record of the voter's intent.
>
> Well now the issue is going Statewide in Colorado, and we need your help to protect the vote here in Colorado.
>
> As you may also know, Colorado's recount law is such that only the same method of voting may be used in the rare event of a recount, so if you vote the first time on a Computer, that's how the recount will be performed. Thus, even if a little slip of receipt paper is printed, that paper may never be looked at if the vote isn't within 0.5% and without the Secretary of State or a court's intervention, or without a concerned public able to tell that there's a problem. That's why we call for Paper Ballots, and we've identified machines that can even mark paper ballots on behalf of disabled voters to comply with ADA requirements yet still make sure our votes are recorded so anyone can verify them. With bits stored in a computer, no one can verify their votes, and I'm a computer programmer mind you!
>
> Colorado State House Bill 1296 introduced by Representative Alice Madden D-Boulder, as amended by Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, provides the strong protections for paper ballots that we need in Colorado to ensure that every vote is counted accurately and that we can trust our elections again.
>
> This bill is being attacked by opponents as too expensive and too much work, and you can be sure that the legislators are going to hear from those opponents to defeat this bill, including the Secretary of State, the County Clerks and last but not least, the Corporate Vendors of touch screen voting systems.
>
> Belief in a strong democracy based on trustworthy elections is not an isolated opinion, even Diane Carman of the Denver Post agrees with me on this:
>
> http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E115%257E1962600,00.html
>
> And you can read all about the issue with these machines (and more, like the ePollbook) in the New York Times and other media outlets:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/making-votes-count.html?pagewanted=all
>
> Please take a moment now to represent the citizens of Colorado on this issue by contacting our State Representatives on the Local Government Committee listed below to show them you support Trustworthy Elections. Both Democrats and Republicans are supporting this legislation, and both parties should be the strongest possible proponents of fair and accurate elections.
>
> Ask them to SUPPORT HB1296 AS AMMENDED to protect Our Democracy in Colorado.
>
> Thank you!
>
> Joe
>
> ----------
>
> Chairperson
> Rippy, Gregg P
> R - Eagle-Garfield-Gunnison-Hinsdale-Pitkin
> grippy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 303-866-2945
>
> Sponsor of the Legislation:
> Madden, Alice
> D - Boulder
> repmaddenhd10@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 303-866-2915
>
> Contact information for the Local Government members:
>
> Weddig, Frank
> D - Arapahoe
> 303-866-2942
> frankweddig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Carroll, Terrance
> D - Denver
> 303-866-2909
> terrance.carroll.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Cerbo, Mike
> D - Denver
> 303-866-2911
> m.cerbo@xxxxxxx
>
> Hodge, Mary
> D - Adams
> 303-866-2912
> mary.hodge.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> McFadyen, Liane "Buffie"
> D-Fremont-Pueblo
> 303-866-2905
> McFadyen2002@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Berry, Gayle
> R-Mesa
> 303-866-2908
> gayle.berry.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Briggs, Bob
> R-Jefferson
> 303-866-2950
> bob.briggs.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Hall, Dale
> R-Weld
> 303-866-2943
> dale.hall.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Smith, Matt
> R-Delta-Mesa
> 303-866-3068
> matt.smith.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Decker, Richard
> R-El Paso
> 303-866-2946
> richard.decker.house@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>  
>
>