Re: NH resists Holt Bill; we should too?

[Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear CVV and Paper Tigers:

I have not taken a firm position on 811 yet.  Let me explain why.

The issues surrounding HR 811 is so technical that I fail to be able to
describe it; much less understand it.


As I understand it, current law permits hand-counted paper ballots.  Will
HR811 make that illegal or easier?

HR811 is about to spend yet another billion dollars on voting machines.  If
I were a voting machine manufacturer, I think I'd be drooling ... again.
This might be reason enough to oppose HR811: A billion dollars for the
manufacturers to better hide their failures.


I am more-than-open to counterarguments; but I have found that complexity
generally means eventual system failure.

Ralph Shnelvar


On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:38:41 -0600, you wrote:

>Dear CVV Folks,
>
>Kathy Dopp (kathy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) has written a positive review of the 
>Holt bill (see her PDF referred to below).
>
>I passed the Tobi piece on to Kathy, and she kindly provided the 
>following input.
>
>Mary
>
>Mary Eberle
>1520 Cress Court
>Boulder, CO 80304
>(303) 442-2164
>
>***********************************************************************
>
>Kathy Dopp wrote:
>
>Nancy Tobi works very closely with election officials who do not want to 
>be forced to do anything by the Feds, including replacing their voting 
>systems or conducting independent audits. Tobi uses fear tactics, 
>misinformation re. HR811, and the "language" of hand counts, to help 
>promote the position of election officials.  Here are two responses I've 
>written to Tobi's earlier work on HR811:
>
>http://www.electionarchive.org/ucvInfo/US/FactsAboutHR811.pdf
>
>http://electionmathematics.org/em-voting-systems/EIGroupsOpposePublicSoftware.pdf
>
>which rebut some of Tobi's former positions re. HR811.
>
>Evan Daniel Ravitz wrote:
>> 
>> http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2145.shtml
>> 
>>  Congress about to "just say yes" to permanent secret vote counting
>> By Nancy Tobi
>> Online Journal Guest Writer
>> 
>> 
>> Jul 2, 2007, 01:46
>> 
>>     Email this article
>>  Printer friendly page
>> 
>> Centralized control of voting is a form of tyranny, pure and simple. 
>> Joseph Stalin is said to have explained why: "Those who cast the votes 
>> decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything."
>> 
>> Meet the new boss
>> 
>> Congress is about to pass an election "reform" bill, HR811 (the Holt 
>> Bill). The bill will enshrine secret computerized vote counting, 
>> controlled by the White House.
>> 
>> The Holt bill would tempt the likes of the late Mayor Daley of Chicago 
>> and vote villain Boss Tweed of New York City's Tammany Hall.
>> 
>> How will our modern vote villains resist?
>> 
>> A "yes" vote on the Holt bill allows the federal government to erect an 
>> impenetrable wall between American voters and their votes. It will lock 
>> in secret vote-counting technology owned by corporations. The public 
>> will be shut out for good.
>> 
>> That's why our New Hampshire Secretary State, the New Hampshire City and 
>> Town Clerks Association, and the Democracy for New Hampshire (DFNH) Fair 
>> Elections Committee all oppose the bill.
>> 
>> They're not alone.
>> 
>> National organizations for the chief voting officials in all 50 states, 
>> state legislators, and the nation's counties all oppose the Holt bill. 
>> There are more than 100 national and regional voting rights groups who 
>> oppose the bill as well.
>> 
>> So, why is Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH) a cosponsor of the Holt bill? 
>> And, why is Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter (D-NH) undecided on the issue?
>> 
>> Lobbyists like Common Cause are promoting HR811 to "get it straight by 
>> 2008." But HR811 is primarily drafted for a 2010 effective date. It will 
>> never protect our 2008 elections.
>> 
>> Grassroots activists have drafted a simple bill that really can make a 
>> difference for 2008. They need a congressional sponsor but have yet to 
>> find any takers.
>> 
>> Congress is stuck on HR811, dangerous flaws and all.
>> 
>> "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
>> 
>> The Help America Vote Act (HAVA), passed in 2002, created the Election 
>> Assistance Commission. This shadow White House agency -- four 
>> presidential appointees -- wields total control over voting system 
>> standards. They design the computerized voting machines, and even the 
>> paper ballots, used in our nation's elections.
>> 
>> HR811 cements voting system control in the hands of the president, 
>> shifting the balance of power in elections from the citizenry to the 
>> Elections Assistance Commission.
>> 
>> This is a complete reversal of the founders' vision of dispersed power.
>> 
>> American revolutionaries rose in opposition to centralized power and 
>> wrote our Constitution to ensure dispersed power, checks and balances, 
>> and respect for the citizenry. The founders knew they needed to limit 
>> human inclinations to abuse power when a very few are given control over 
>> the many.
>> 
>> HR811 makes the Elections Assistance Commission a permanent fixture in 
>> government: one president appointing four commissioners with absolute 
>> control of our elections.
>> 
>> The American people need to think carefully about this.
>> 
>> HR811 gives the commissioners broad reaching powers. They will be the 
>> "deciders" on selecting precincts for election audits. They will control 
>> and own all information related to our voting systems, election results, 
>> and audits. They will define all standards and e-voting equipment. The 
>> states, our state, will have to report to the commission to have our 
>> election results certified. And our elections will become more complex 
>> and computerized, assuring citizens less and less access to the process.
>> 
>> The money trail
>> 
>> It's always instructive to follow the money in hard fought political 
>> battles, as New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner recently 
>> reminded us.
>> 
>> One of the strongest champions of HR811 is an organization called 
>> VoteTrustUSA. This "grassroots" organization has ties to one of the 
>> nation's largest "data consolidation" companies, ChoicePoint. Remember 
>> them? They helped Katherine Harris purge the Florida 2000 voter 
>> registration rolls. Nearly 100,000 registered American voters were 
>> denied their right to vote for what journalist Greg Palast called the 
>> crime of "voting while black." Palast claims the denied vote -- and not 
>> hanging chads -- is what really cost Gore that election.
>> 
>> Last summer the Atlanta Progressive News reported that the wife of 
>> ChoicePoint's CEO Doug Curling has contributed money to VTUSA. Doug 
>> Curling confirmed to Bev Harris of Black Box Voting that his wife Donna 
>> is a VTUSA donor "and probably a board member." Donna Curling also had 
>> participated in leadership groups under an assumed name. She remains 
>> involved with this grassroots group, which now has a full-time 
>> Washington lobbyist working for passage of the Holt bill.
>> 
>> Why would a grassroots election reform organization have these ties to 
>> ChoicePoint?
>> 
>> Absolute power: The marriage of federal and corporate power
>> 
>> A corporation like ChoicePoint, combined with the commission, would have 
>> one-stop shopping control over our elections. The commission controls 
>> the voting systems and all information relating to elections everywhere 
>> in the country.
>> 
>> All the data consolidation company needs to do is overlay their vast 
>> demographic and other election data maps over a map of our nation, put 
>> together their game plan, and they'll own every election.
>> 
>> They succeeded in Florida. HR811, the Holt Bill, gives them the nation.
>> 
>> Nancy Tobi is the author of numerous articles on election integrity, 
>> including "The Gifts of HAVA: Time to Ask for a Refund," "What's Wrong 
>> with the Holt Bill,"and "We're Counting the Votes: An Election 
>> Preparedness Kit." She is Legislative Coordinator of Election Defense 
>> Alliance, co-founder of Democracy for New Hampshire and Chair of the New 
>> Hampshire Fair Elections Committee. Her writings may be found at 
>> http://www.electiondefensealliance.org and 
>> www.democracyfornewhampshire.com.
>> 
>> Copyright  1998-2007 Online Journal
>> Email Online Journal Editor
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>                      www.Vote.org
>>          Taking the "mock" out of democracy!
>>    Evan Ravitz, founder (303)440-6838 evan@xxxxxxxx
>>    also: www.Vote.org/photos  www.Vote.org/paradise
>> "Fool's gold exists because there is real gold." -Rumi
>> 
>> 
>>