|
Awesome, Tracy! Good job! How interesting that once we finally get some traction with the dailies and even with major players in the state legislature and with the Governor, the clerks persist in wanting speed over accuracy. And seeing how Coffman re-certified (under what criteria???) these machines, it sickens me that citizens may still opt for machine voting under the guise of speeding up the lines for voting versus caring that their vote will really count. I wonder if anyone will poll citizens that vote in this election to see if they care so much that their vote will count, that they will insist that they get the paper ballots over the DREs. > From: tracyabell@xxxxxxxxxxx > To: openforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > CC: ken@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; mike.may.house@xxxxxxxxxxx; alice.madden.house@xxxxxxxxxxx; secretary@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: Editorial re Paper Ballots > Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:52:55 +0000 > > Dear Editor, > > I was happy to read your editorial supporting paper ballots. Paper ballots are > "the best way to inject some voter confidence back into the electoral process." > Paper ballots allow voters to verify that their votes are cast and counted as intended, > and provide the only reliable method for an accurate recount. The integrity of the > vote should be the highest priority in a democracy yet manufacturers such as > Diebold and ES&S have made millions of dollars selling their black box voting > machines to county clerks who seem to believe elections are about speed rather > than accuracy. > > In 2004, a group of concerned citizens called Coloradans for Voting Integrity > (CFVI) advocated for verifiable voting via paper ballots and hand counts. We > wanted to restore transparency to the election process and tried educating the > county clerks about the perils of hidden code software and basic computer > glitches. The clerks defended their expensive machines and refused to listen to > what computer scientists and security experts said about the very real possibility > of flipped votes. The clerks would not admit they had no idea what was going on inside > the voting machines. > > And now here we go again. Finally, the concept of voting integrity is getting > some traction and who is complaining the loudest? The county clerks. What's > their big concern? Counting the votes. Well, I have news for them. There are > people in every county willing to sit down with their neighbors and, > under the guidance of election officials, hand-count the vote. How do I know > this? CFVI gathered names of people throughout the state who care enough about > the integrity of their votes to volunteer their time to count paper ballots. > > Why don't the county clerks, people who were elected to run our elections, share > this concern for voting integrity? > > Sincerely, > > Tracy Abell > 13640 W. Center Dr. > Lakewood, CO 80228 > 303 986 9501 |