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Colorado Voter Group wants
polling place elections with a few adjustments. November 19, 2007 County clerks have been pushing Colorado legislators to
adopt all-mail elections for the 2008 elections. There is a superior
alternative. Please see the press release below. It is also
attached as a MS WORD file. The framework referred to in the release is attached to this
e-mail as a PDF file. It is also accessible on the Internet at http://alkolwicz.net/Documents/Colorado%202008%20Elections%20-%20Framework.pdf
We hope that you will give prominent exposure to this
information. Thank you. Al Al
Kolwicz Colorado
Voter Group 2867 Tincup
Circle Boulder, CO
80305 303-494-1540 www.coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com The
Colorado Voter Group is a private entity working to improve Colorado's election
system. A dedicated group of volunteers who are working to ensure
that every voter gets to vote once, every vote is counted once, and that every
ballot is secure and anonymous. Colorado Voter Group 2867 Tincup Circle Boulder, CO 80305 303-494-1540 PRESS RELEASE For immediate release Contact: Al Kolwicz, 303-494-1540, AlKolwicz@xxxxxxxxx November 19, 2007 Colorado Voter Group wants
polling place elections with a few adjustments. Colorado election officials and legislators are already
discussing contingency plans. What happens if electronic vote recording
and electronic vote counting equipment fail to pass certification
tests? The Colorado Voter Group today published “Colorado Elections
2008 - Framework for Primary and General Elections”. It calls for a
typical “polling place election” with a few changes. The changes are
designed to reduce the risks associated with electronic vote recording and
counting equipment. Precinct, early, absentee, and provisional voting are
included in the plan. Accessible voting is available at early and
precinct polling locations. One change requires that all votes must be recorded on paper
ballots. Some of the uncertified voting equipment records votes on both
an electronic ballot and a voter verifiable paper audit trail. Votes from
the audit trails will be transcribed by the bipartisan ballot duplication board
to paper ballots before counting. If all votes are counted by hand, the framework recommends
that ballot designs be optimized for accurate and verifiable hand-counting of
votes. Uncertified vote counting equipment may provisionally be
used in precincts and central counting locations. But logic &
accuracy tests, post election audits, and election canvassing must be
significantly strengthened to verify that results are correct. According to Al Kolwicz, spokesperson for Colorado Voter
Group, “This framework defines what is needed to conduct a trustworthy 2008
Election. It is sensitive to the realities of Colorado’s situation.
It should be adopted, whether or not voting equipment is certified.” MORE - FRAMEWORK The framework assumes that emergency temporary certification
will be issued for some, if not all, electronic equipment. It also assumes
that the Secretary of State will set conditions to minimize potential damage
and uncertainty caused by using uncertified equipment. The Colorado Voter Group has found that anonymous paper
ballots, with votes marked in a precinct’s private voting booth and hand
counted, are the most trustworthy and transparent voting method.
Electronic voting equipment that records votes on paper ballots brings private
voting to handicapped voters. Although certified elsewhere, this
equipment is not yet certified for use in Colorado. In-person voting can be made intimidation-free and
electioneering-free while mail voting cannot. When all votes are recorded on paper ballots, election
oversight is simplified and more transparent. Electronic voting equipment that records votes on electronic
ballots poses a threat to accurate election results; more so when the equipment
has not been certified. Electronic ballots are more vulnerable to
undetected errors and fraud than are paper ballots. Election judges and
poll watchers cannot see if votes are changed. They cannot verify that
votes are correctly interpreted and counted. All-mail ballot elections eliminate precinct and early
voting and the opportunity to vote using an anonymous ballot. It is the
least secure option. There is no way to prevent vote selling/buying,
voter intimidation, and illegal electioneering. Most all-mail ballot
election activity occurs outside of public view. With no independent
oversight, there is no reason to trust the results. Kolwicz says, “Officials would do well to remember the
results of a 2002 statewide referendum where all-mail balloting for Primary and
General elections was rejected by 57.6% of voters. Kolwicz says, “We believe it would be irresponsible to put
Colorado’s Presidential votes at risk. The all-mail ballot approach is
fraud and error prone and the voters have rejected it. The electronic
ballot approach makes error and fraud detection almost impossible.
We should not use all-mail ballots or electronic ballots for the 2008
elections.“ MORE - POLICY DEBATE The policy debate regarding voting systems for the 2008
election is underway. Legislators are meeting with state and county
election officials in an attempt to gather information and to hear arguments
for and against various alternatives. But the people are not a part of the debate. As a
result, valuable facts are being excluded from the debate. Some voters are concerned that election officials do not
always pursue the correct agenda. They believe that some officials assert
opinion as fact, and withhold inconvenient facts. Election officials generally give highest priority to
election cost, ease of implementation, high turnout percentage, quick results,
and superficial compliance with election laws and procedures. Colorado Voter Group believes that concerned voters give the
highest priority to election accuracy, accessibility for all voters,
verifiability, reliability, security, transparency, accountability, and voter anonymity
using secret ballots. The group also believes that concerned voters
demand the absence of voter intimidation, vote buying/selling, and illegal
electioneering. Kolwicz says, “We are concerned that the public’s voice is
being excluded from the discussion. County clerks enjoy
preferential access to legislators and the Secretary of State. Clerks are
using this access to convince state officials to adopt their one-sided
agenda. They are not telling the whole story. The public needs to
be included.” * ** END * * * Reference material:
http://alkolwicz.net/Documents/Colorado%202008%20Elections%20-%20Framework.pdf |
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Colorado 2008 Elections - Framework.pdf
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PRESS Group wants polling place elections with a few adjustments.doc
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