Reclaiming Elections
One of the victims of the 2005 Congressional year was a bill requiring (among other reforms) a paper receipt when computerized "touch screen" machines are used in voting. It, like the Stem Cell Research bill never made it to the Senate floor. Time ran out. As a result, any bill introduced this year will have no effect on the November elections. That means that any reform will have to be done at the state level.
Today's Washington Post has an editorial on Maryland's struggle to bring credibility back to elections.
AFTER DAWDLING for a good two years and defending a certifiably untrustworthy voting process in Maryland, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) announced last week that he, too, has lost confidence in the state's ability to conduct fair and secure elections this fall. A curiously tardy call, Governor, but welcome aboard: Time is short, but now an all-out effort to clean up the system before the elections can and should begin.
Lawmakers in both parties have warned repeatedly that the touch-screen machines that have been in use are seriously flawed. Voters cannot know for sure whether their choices are correctly recorded and tallied because the machines do not produce any paper trails showing each vote cast; that makes an audit impossible. Computer experts note, too, that results can be rigged without risk of detection.
Now Mr. Ehrlich has joined the paper-trail chorus, echoing concerns raised not only in Annapolis but also in dozens of states about machines manufactured by Diebold Election Systems. The governor's newfound angst just might have been stirred by a defeat he suffered on an election issue only last month; the Democratic-controlled legislature overrode his veto of measures that allow votes to be cast five days before a scheduled election and voters to cast provisional ballots at any polling place. In his latest announcement he cited Maryland's lack of readiness for the next elections, adding that early voting should be delayed.
State elections administrator Linda H. Lamone insisted Thursday that all is well, that the machines are reliable and that "you are asking for a catastrophe if you try to change" the system. After all, who needs audits or some paper record of how votes were cast? Just take it on faith that your vote was duly recorded and that the results are right.
...Still, machines that produce paper trails are a must. The political dickering and dueling that compounded this mess has got to be cut short. The integrity of Maryland's voting process is at stake. It must not be imperiled as voters prepare to record their preferences in some of the most important state and local elections in years. [Emphasis added]
Key to restoring trust to a system run by machines that are demonstrably not secure is a paper trail which can be used to verify results by audit. The proposed federal bill included that concept and it is a shame that the GOP would not get behind it and pass it before the various scandals and disasters struck. While it is clear that the governor is playing a little "gotcha" game in response to the Maryland legislature's veto over-ride, the Democratic legislature should run, not walk, with the governor's idea and get those voting machines equipped properly. They have nothing to lose, and a whole lot to gain by holding trustworthy elections.
One hopes that Ohio can also pause long enough from their governmental scandals to also pass a comparable bill. It might make a huge difference this November and the November two years from now.
Just sayin'.
Today's Washington Post has an editorial on Maryland's struggle to bring credibility back to elections.
AFTER DAWDLING for a good two years and defending a certifiably untrustworthy voting process in Maryland, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) announced last week that he, too, has lost confidence in the state's ability to conduct fair and secure elections this fall. A curiously tardy call, Governor, but welcome aboard: Time is short, but now an all-out effort to clean up the system before the elections can and should begin.
Lawmakers in both parties have warned repeatedly that the touch-screen machines that have been in use are seriously flawed. Voters cannot know for sure whether their choices are correctly recorded and tallied because the machines do not produce any paper trails showing each vote cast; that makes an audit impossible. Computer experts note, too, that results can be rigged without risk of detection.
Now Mr. Ehrlich has joined the paper-trail chorus, echoing concerns raised not only in Annapolis but also in dozens of states about machines manufactured by Diebold Election Systems. The governor's newfound angst just might have been stirred by a defeat he suffered on an election issue only last month; the Democratic-controlled legislature overrode his veto of measures that allow votes to be cast five days before a scheduled election and voters to cast provisional ballots at any polling place. In his latest announcement he cited Maryland's lack of readiness for the next elections, adding that early voting should be delayed.
State elections administrator Linda H. Lamone insisted Thursday that all is well, that the machines are reliable and that "you are asking for a catastrophe if you try to change" the system. After all, who needs audits or some paper record of how votes were cast? Just take it on faith that your vote was duly recorded and that the results are right.
...Still, machines that produce paper trails are a must. The political dickering and dueling that compounded this mess has got to be cut short. The integrity of Maryland's voting process is at stake. It must not be imperiled as voters prepare to record their preferences in some of the most important state and local elections in years. [Emphasis added]
Key to restoring trust to a system run by machines that are demonstrably not secure is a paper trail which can be used to verify results by audit. The proposed federal bill included that concept and it is a shame that the GOP would not get behind it and pass it before the various scandals and disasters struck. While it is clear that the governor is playing a little "gotcha" game in response to the Maryland legislature's veto over-ride, the Democratic legislature should run, not walk, with the governor's idea and get those voting machines equipped properly. They have nothing to lose, and a whole lot to gain by holding trustworthy elections.
One hopes that Ohio can also pause long enough from their governmental scandals to also pass a comparable bill. It might make a huge difference this November and the November two years from now.
Just sayin'.
posted by Diane at 5:15 AM
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