Lawmakers Warned About Voting Problems

[DoYouEverWonder]

July 19, 2006

WASHINGTON -- If this fall's elections abound with voting problems, members of Congress cannot say they were not warned.

Experts told members of two House committees on Wednesday that security for electronic voting machines is inadequate, lab testing of this machinery is insufficient and a paper record of voting is essential to protect election integrity.

The lawmakers also heard reassurances that potential problems are being addressed.

"The federal standards are not sufficient to prove that election systems are able to guarantee federally approved voting systems can adequately protect the integrity of our elections against unintentional failures or against tampering," said David Wagner, a specialist in computer science from the University of California-Berkeley.

An election official from Minnesota, Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, said paper records are critical. At least half the states will keep a "paper trail" of voting this year.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-improving-elections,0,6872622.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines


Ban the machines. Paper and pen only!

[seafan]

1. Paper ballots and NOT paper trails! This is critical.

"Paper trails" are ONLY used for recount IF, and this is a BIG IF, the election is close or the results questioned. Otherwise, the paper trail records are never examined. This does not help ensure that the machine count is accurate at all.

All the GOP needs to do is skim enough electronic/optically scanned votes from heavily Democratic/minority areas and add them to the GOP column to go undetected. Just like they did in Ohio. And Florida. And New Mexico. And other states. This type of theft would never trigger a recount in the first place, so voila! The paper trail is never examined. And another election is stolen from the people.


I cannot emphasize this enough, because it is the answer.


We MUST vote on a paper ballot in the first place. Then, the paper MUST BE HAND COUNTED at the precinct.


NO MACHINES.

NO MACHINES.


ABSOLUTELY NO MACHINES.

[Wisconsin Larry]

2. Absolutely Right -- No Machines And in addition, we must

have an exit poll not controlled by the corporate media. Remember 2004? The raw exit poll data reported the actual votes but as the "counted" vote came in, the exit polls were "corrected" to match the "counted" results.

Not again. We need an independent monitor to assure the accuracy of the vote. If it works in third world countries, it can work here as well. Maybe the Carter Foundation can organize an international monitoring group as they do in other countries where the democratic process is in doubt.

[seafan]

3. Agree totally. We must have accurate exit polling that's NOT *corrected*

in the wee hours of the next day, *to fit Karl Rove's new numbers.*

I will NEVER forget that as it happened after midnight on election day, 2004.


Pen and paper ballots.

Unadulterated exit polling.

Hand counts at every precinct.

[Virginian]

7. You ARE going to sign up to count the votes at your precinct, Right?

It doesn't matter who votes, what matters is who COUNTS the vote.
You can't leave that important step up to just anybody. In order for it to be counted right, YOU, and others who are passionate about the vote need to be the election officers who do the counting.

I'm sure you can still contact your local electoral board to get your application in for the November election. They will need a lot more workers if they use paper ballots and count them by hand.

[bvar22]

4. The Democratic Party was WARNED in advnce before 2004....

about BBV in general, and about Ohio, Diebold, and Blackwell SPECIFICALLY.
The response from the Democratic Party was deafening in its silence.

[ladjf]

6. What would you expect from Dems who are falling all over

themselves praising Israel's attacks against Palestine and Lebanon?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. 6 years is but a mote in time's eye!

:eyes: