All Those In Favor Of HR811 - THE LAST, BEST CHANCE TO PROTECT 2008.... Stand Up And Be Counted!

[Yellow Horse]

All Those In Favor Of HR811 - THE LAST, BEST CHANCE TO PROTECT 2008.... Stand Up And Be Counted!

I support it. STRONGLY.

What's Good About HR 811?

PLENTY!

** By 2008 HR 811 requires states with paperless DREs to get some sort of voter-verified paper. Some states, like Pennsylvania, will have to go to all optical scan.
** By 2008 HR 811 requires random hand counts of 3% to 10% of the voter-verified paper ballots in all Federal races, depending on the margin between leading candidates.
** By 2010 - HR811 requires pre-printed paper ballots to be offered to all eligible voters at the polls.
** By 2012 - HR811 requires durable, scan-able iii, individual paper ballots with every voting system.
** By 2012 - HR811 requires non-visual and enhanced visual paper ballot verification for voters with disabilities.
** By 2012 – HR811 requires mechanisms that do not require a voter to manually handle the paper ballots for voters with disabilities.

FMI: http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Analysis-HR811-Aug2007.pdf

If this bill dies it will kill any chance of protecting the 2008 elections and most likely make any election reform bill much harder to pass in the future. 35 million voters will have to cast their 2008 ballots on paperless DREs (and probably for many elections after that, as well.)

Vote YES on HR 811!

[MH1]

1. I'm from PA and for HR811

Optical scan isn't perfect but it's a heck of a lot better than what we have now.

[GregD]

2. Will H.R. 811 Reform Our Elections?

Will it allow voters to verify the ballots that are counted election night?
NO.

Has the equipment it requires been certified to federal standards?
NO.

Has such equipment even been invented yet?
NO.

Will voters or poll workers understand what the equipment is doing?
NO.

Will candidates be able to confirm that their race was handled correctly?
NO.

Will observers be able to watch the ballot handling and vote counting?
NO.

Will the bill add new financial burdens to localities and taxpayers?
YES.

Will the bill create windfall profits for voting system vendors?
YES.


Will H.R. 811 Protect Our Elections? NO!
Ban DREs Now!



Even Holt admits that his bill has been diluted and is no longer a reflection of what it once was intended to be. Holt refuses to consider so much of what has been learned since this issue arose in 2003, yet he refuses to scrap this weak bill and write new legislation that adequately reflects the state of the art in election integrity and security. It continues to allow secret, undisclosed corporate source code. In his words, "Microsoft won..."

OPPOSE HR811

[MH1]

3. It will reform elections in PA.

I am sorry that you apparently don't give a damn, and want us continue with what we have through 2008 - 2010 - 2080.

[GregD]

5. don't give a damn...

Right. I don't give a damn.

I guess that accounts for why I served as co-founder of Verified Voting, working full time on the issue for nearly a year, built a critical campaign web site for Holt, have hosted VotersUnite.org (and help with their technical issues) for a few years now, and feel I have earned a bit more credit than what you would realize. But that's fine, you don't know me, so you obviously assume I don't give a damn.

I assure you - I do give a damn. And while I don't know what you have done to resolve this issue, I have done a lot, and am frustrated beyond words that HR811 has become the diluted and piss-poor legislation that it has deteriorated into.

[JohnGideon]

4. It Is Likely The 2008 Dates Are In Jeopardy

The Microsoft-811 bill is scheduled to go to the Rules Committee tomorrow at 3PM. I believe that at that meeting the members will decide what amendments will be accepted to be debated and what amendments will not be heard. There is an "unfunded mandate" amendment that is likely to be allowed, partially because it has bi-partisan support.

The bill will then be sent to the floor to get in line for a vote. That could happen anytime after the bill is released by Rules.

The "unfunded mandate" essentially says that there has been no money appropriated for this bill so the bill's dates all have to wait until money is appropriated. 2010? 2012? Never? All are possible. Also possible depending on the wording of the amendment is that the source code disclosure parts of the bill could go into affect immediately upon signing the bill into law. Microsoft wins; the voters lose.