Time to lobby the City

[Evan Daniel Ravitz <evan@xxxxxxxx>]

Folks,

Please write letters SOON to editors and the City Council, which is
VERY SOON to decide how to run the March 8 election to replace Will
Toor. Here's mine, sent today to the Camera:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 09:57:29 -0700 (MST)
From: Evan Daniel Ravitz <evan@xxxxxxxx>
To: Boulder Daily Camera <evansc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: letter re: voting tech


Editor,

The Camera has published several letters saying be patient with the
County's new voting system because it's "accurate." There is NO way
to know if the system is accurate because the software is a trade
secret.

Manhattan election commissioner Douglas Kellner told the NY Women's
Bar Association: "Using electronic voting machines to count ballots
is akin to taking all the paper ballots and handing them over to a
couple of computer tech people to count them in a secret room, and
then tell us how it came out. This is not an acceptable way of
conducting elections in a democracy."

The record shows that at two County Commissioners hearings, the ONLY
people in favor of the proprietary system bought for $1.5 million
were employed by the County or the vendor, Hart InterCivic  (whose
major investor is Tom Hicks, who made Bush a millionaire by buying
the Texas Rangers.) ALL other citizens testified for either
hand-counting, used in Canada, Britain, Germany, etc. and which an
MIT/Caltech study shows is the most accurate, or for public
software, used in Australia.

Never have I seen such a clear example of government against the
people.

The County seems determined to cover up their contemptuous mistake.
County spokesman Jim Burrus told the Rocky Mtn. News: "It's what the
folks wanted." They are now investigating themselves, the
perpetrators appointing a commission to study the situation.

The City is having a special election March 8 to elect Will Toor's
replacement. Please contact the city council
(council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) and ask for a hand count. Council member
Crystal Gray is one of over 130 citizens who volunteered in just 3
days for hand counting, which list the County ignored. This is a
very simple election, a great time to start doing the public's most
important business in public, and keeping our money here.

Evan Ravitz
1130 11th St. #3
Boulder CO 80302
(303)440-6838