House Administration Committee Approves Holt Emergency Voting Bill

[kster]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

That should fix the secret vote counting

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Thanks Holt

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2803&Itemid=26:rofl:

[Stuart G]

1. We have won............

...Read and you will know....


National Issues

House Administration Committee Approves Holt Emergency Voting Bill PDF Print Email
By U.S. Representative Rush Holt Press Release
April 02, 2008
Legislation Would Reimburse State and Local Jurisdictions That Opt in for Voter-Verified Paper Ballots and/or Audits

(Washington, D.C.) – The House of Representatives Committee on House Administration today approved the Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008, legislation introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) to allow states to opt-in to receive reimbursements from the federal government if they convert to a paper ballot voting system, offer emergency paper ballots, and/or conduct hand-counted audits or by hand, count the results of their elections.

“I introduced this bill earlier this year to ensure that we protect the accuracy, integrity and security of the 2008 general elections,” Holt said. “I am pleased the Committee on House Administration recognized the need to act to help states prevent disputes and uncertainties involving the November election. We will achieve real progress if we can encourage more states to give every voter a verified paper ballot. And it will be a real step forward if we can encourage more states to conduct audits.”

The bill approved by the Committee would authorize funding to reimburse states with paperless jurisdictions that convert to paper-based voting systems in 2008, as well those that don’t fully convert to a paper-based system but provide emergency paper ballots that would be counted as regular ballots in the event of machine failure. The reimbursements would cover the cost of equipment conversion (from paperless touch screen machines to optical scanners and ballot marking devices or, as authorized by a Committee amendment, by attaching printers to the touch screens) and the cost of developing procedures for conducting hand-counted audits or hand counting the results of elections.

Additionally, the bill would authorize funding for states that conduct audits that meet basic minimum requirements, including the use of a random selection, the requirement that audits be conducted with independence, at least a 2 percent audit sample, and public observation.

If the bill does not pass or jurisdictions do not opt in, six complete states and some number of counties in 14 other states will be conducting completely unauditable elections in 2008. In addition, only about a dozen states will conduct audits.

Holt urged the House to move quickly to pass the legislation. “Time is of the essence to pass this bill. We need to make sure states have the opportunity to take advantage of the opt-in reimbursements. We need to ensure that we protect our citizens’ right to vote and assure them that their vote can be independently proven to have been counted accurately

[Blaze Diem]

2. k & r

tks for the post.

[papau]

3. The momentum was there for the Holt bill that was killed - not for this one - Bradsblog links

to http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2803&Itemid=26

and after a day there is no push on either site to get folks behind this bill.

We will have won when Holt is signed into law - not before. And that will take Brad - and others - having the guts to go against Bev.

[kster]

4. You guys/gals just don't care how ridiculous you look

you just

and going.

We will be Hand Counting OUR Ballots at the precinct Holt and his supporters better get their brains wrapped around that little FACT.

[OnTheOtherHand]

6. maybe I will explain this one more time

This bill would actually pay for the costs of the hand counts you say you want. (But only in 2008, since it's an emergency bill.)

So, if you expect to be hand counting your ballots at the precinct this year, but you aren't interested in this bill, I sure hope you have an excellent alternative plan.

[Bill Bored]

7. Hand Counts beyond 2008 the way I read it.

The bill says that the money can be used until it has been expended.

Can you show where there is any time limit, or how soon the money might run out if every state decided to hand count their federal elections? I'm thinking decades.

[OnTheOtherHand]

8. well, OK

(1) ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS- If a State, county, or equivalent location tallies the results of any regularly scheduled general election for Federal office in November 2008 by conducting a hand count of the votes cast on the paper ballots used in the election (including paper ballot printouts verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast) in accordance with the requirements of this section, the Administrator shall make a payment to the State, county, or equivalent location in an amount equal to the documented reasonable costs incurred by the State, county, or equivalent location in conducting the hand counts.

(emphasis added)

I don't see how (4) can trump (1). But IANAL. Maybe Land Shark could pull it off. :shrug:

[Bill Bored]

9. You mean this (4):

(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as may be necessary for payments under this section. Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under this subsection shall remain available until expended.

And there is a similar graf in just about every other section of the bill.

I am not a lawyer, and I'd be the last one to ever accuse Holt & Co. of straight talk, but I think there's no point in saying the funds are "available until expended" if this only applies to the 2008 election.

Do we know how much is being appropriated?

The payments for hand counts are NOT restricted to any particular "eligible jurisdictions", so it appears that at most, the cost to any jurisdiction would be the cost of ballot printing. Even that cost would be covered for jurisdictions that didn't have a paper trail in 2006, while the cost of the actual hand counting itself would be covered anywhere.

That's my reading anyway.

[kster]

10. What does Holt's Super Duper "Emergency' bill change?

"There is a simple reason that Florida law and the law in many other states calls for a careful check by real people of the machine results in elections like this one. The reason? Machines can sometimes misread or fail to detect the way ballots are cast, and when there are serious doubts, checking the machine count with a careful hand count is accepted far and wide as the best way to know the true intentions of the voters".


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469812

Obviously this law is already in affect so what is it that "dumb ass" is doing for us?

[Bill Bored]

11. Perhaps you are not aware...

...that there are states in the US that do not have the ability to count paper ballots because they don't vote on them. To the extent they are willing to change that, the bill provides federal money to pay for it, and will even pay them to count the ballots by hand.

[kster]

12. F-ck the bill, Bill, you and I both know

right from wrong, if you want to keep pretending YOU are stupid, So be it, my kids now know to Hand Count Any and All of the Paper Ballots By Hand at the Precinct

Step up to the plate Bill, for your kids sake, DO IT NOW!!!! The truth is real Goddamn easy!!!

Take out these CROOKS, once and for all!!!

[Bill Bored]

14. The crooks are telling you nicely to get your state or county to hand count

and they'll pay for it. So when are you going to make it happen kster?

[kster]

16. We should start a vote/counting company, we'll call it "catch me if you can"

vote/counting company. All we need to do is get the lawmakers that we pre-select to make laws to protect us from any and all voters seeing the inner workings of our vote/counting machines then, all we have to do is convince the people/voters that, they should feel secure about our vote/counting machines if we make a law that allows them to hand count 3% of the paper ballots, but, we will do it right, the first 3% of the paper ballots that our machines count, will be done ACCURATELY, THEN, We hand the first 3% of the voter verified paper ballots over to the voters to Hand Count.

Every one is happy, we make money, only a VERY few ever get to see the actual vote count or the inner workings of our vote/counting machines, Life is good!!

SCREW THE KIDS!! ;-)

[OnTheOtherHand]

13. well, good luck with that

I happen to think that "payments under this section" means something, and that the title and first paragraph of the section give a pretty good hint what it means. Seems like pretty straight talk to me. (I know it's fashionable around here to gripe about Holt, but I never was fashionable around here.)

[Bill Bored]

15. I disagree, but it's easy enough to ask someone what it means. nt

[kster]

5. "We" Do you have a mouse in your pocket? nt