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MD requires paper ballots
RELEASE
Contact: Shazia Anwar, Director
TrueVoteMD
April 9, 2007
(301) 537-4862 (cell)
(301) 270-6150 office
*Maryland Passes Paper Ballot Bill*
*'A Victory for Democracy'*
/Annapolis, Maryland./ In the closing hours of the 2007 legislative
session, a four year effort to require paper ballots for Maryland's
voting system passed the House and the Senate unanimously. The bill, SB
392/HB18, requires a voter-verified paper trail to be implemented in 2010.
"This is a victory for democracy in Maryland. Thousands of voters who
worked to make this a reality are celebrating tonight," said Shazia
Anwar, Director of TrueVoteMD.org the election watchdog group that
spearheaded efforts for a paper ballot. "We crossed a major hurdle
tonight, now we have to make sure the bill is fully implemented."
Last week it looked there was no chance a bill would pass in 2007, but
consistent citizen pressure -- emails, phone calls and voter visits --
let the Senate leadership know this was an issue of utmost importance to
Maryland voters. "We're very pleased elected officials in both Houses
decided this was the year to put in place a voter verified paper record
that could used independent audits and meaningful recounts" said Anwar.
"TrueVoteMD.org was founded four years ago in order to create elections
that voters in Maryland could trust," said Linda Schade, founder of
TrueVoteMD. "I'm pleased that we've made significant progress tonight."
The final bill ensures that any new voting system certified for use must
include a voter verified paper record. The bill requires an optically
scannable paper ballot marked by hand or with the help of a ballot
marking device. The final bill also ensures that disabled voters will be
able to vote independently and privately. The bill is expected to save
Maryland taxpayer money as studies have shown that operating costs for
optical scanning equipment are 30% to 40% lower than the cost of
Maryland's current touchscreen machines.
The final step for enactment of the bill into law is the signature of
Governor Martin O'Malley. O'Malley has expressed support for a voter
verified paper ballot during his gubernatorial campaign. A poll
conducted by the State Board of Election last year found that 69% of
Maryland voters supported a paper trail.
Maryland was one of the first states to use electronic voting machines
and is one of the last to require a voter verified paper ballot.
Twenty-seven states require either a voter verified paper ballot or a
paper ballot based system and seven other states do not use electronic
voting machines. Over 30 states use optical scan systems 50% will vote
on them in 2008.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
*22 states require voting machines to produce a VVPAT *(AK, AZ, AR, CA,
CO, CT, HI, ID, IL, ME, MO, MT, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, UT, WA, WV, WI)
*5 states require paper-based ballot systems* (MI, MN, NH, NM, VT) *Of
the 22 states that require voting machines to produce a VVPAT, 17 use
electronic voting machines in at least one jurisdiction *(AK, AZ, AR,
CA, CO, HI, IL, MO, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, UT, WA, WV, WI) *while 5 do not
use any electronic voting machines *(CT, ID, ME, MT, OR).
*15 states and the District of Columbia use electronic voting machines
in at least one jurisdiction and do not require VVPATs *(DE, DC, FL, GA,
IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WY)
*7 states do not use any electronic voting machines and do not have any
regulations requiring VVPATs *(AL, MA*, NE, ND, OK, RI, SD)
Notes: Mississippi, does not require VVPATs but in the 77 counties that
received electronic voting machines in 2005, the machines produce a VVPAT.
Massachusetts is in the process of selecting an accessible voting system.
Source: VoteTrustUSA.org
###
--
Shazia N. Anwar
Director, TrueVoteMD
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 240
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Phone: 301-270-6150
Email: shazia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web: www.TrueVoteMD.org
TrueVoteMD is a non-partisan election integrity group dedicated to
free and fair elections in the State of Maryland.