FW: I Testified on Voting Privacy yesterday

["Pete Klammer" <pklammer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Voter anonymity and ballot secrecy are essential for trustworthy elections.
Pre-serialized ballots, even barcoded, are simply not optional or
discretionary.

Excerpts from the .PDF file referenced below:

"If steps are taken to undermine the secret ballot, i.e., by linking a
voter's identity to his vote, then by extension the integrity of the
election itself is compromised, because this opens the door to the potential
for coercive tactics to influence how individuals vote."

"Dr. Jones recommends that, "It would be beneficial to privacy if DRE
machines broke up
the e-ballots so that the different parts, signifying votes in different
races on the ballot, are stored
independently. As a result, it would not be possible to sign a ballot using
a pre-arranged pattern
of votes in minor offices such as judicial retention races or by using a
pre-arranged write-in vote
in some office."

"The only voting technologies that prevent this particular form of ballot
signature are lever
voting machines and the use of a separate ballot for each office, as some
Swiss cantons do-they
print the ballots on perforated paper, and before counting, separate the
ballot sections into subballots
-leaving one section for each race."

--
Pete Klammer, P.E. / ACM(1970), IEEE(SA,P1583), ICCP(CCP), NSPE(PE)
   3200 Routt Street / Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80033-5452
 (303)233-9485 / Fax:(303)274-6182 / Mailto:PKlammer@xxxxxxx
   "Either Be Good, or Else Be Careful, but Do Have Fun! "

-----Original Message-----
From: Lillie Coney [mailto:coney@xxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004 8:13 AM
To: CBC Staff:; Voting Issues:
Subject: I Testified on Voting Privacy yesterday

EPIC Testifies on Voting Privacy
The Election Assistance Commission Technical Guidelines Development 
Committee asked EPIC to offer testimony (pdf) on the impact that new 
voting technology and polling place practices has on the privacy 
rights of voters. The hearing was an opportunity for the committee 
charged with making recommendations on voluntary standards for 
election systems and voting technology. The committee is expected to 
make its recommendations to the full Election Assistance Commission 
board sometime next summer for adoption and implementation in 2006. 
(Sept. 22)

Testimony can be found at: 
http://www.epic.org/privacy/voting/Voting_Statement.pdf