MoveOn Bulletin
Tuesday, July 29th, 2003
Co-Editors: Tai Moses and Don Hazen, AlterNet
Subscribe online at:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/
CONTENTS:
1. Joan Blades and Wes Boyd: We Need Modern and Secure Voting Systems
2. Don Hazen: A Voting and Democracy Primer
3. Miles Rapoport: Beyond Voting Machines
4. John Schwartz: Computer Voting is Open to Easy Fraud, Experts Say
5. Thom Hartmann: The Theft of Your Vote is Just a Chip Away
6. Kim Alexander: The Voting Rights Struggle of Our Time
7. LCCR: Advocates' Guide to the Help America Vote Act
8. Greg Palast, Martin Luther King III: Jim Crow Revived in Cyberspace
9. John Moyers, Elizabeth Ready: Ballots can Keep Bullets from Flying
10. About the Bulletin
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WE NEED MODERN AND SECURE VOTING SYSTEMS
In the wake of the 2000 election debacle, Congress passed the
Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which was intended to ensure that all
Americans have an opportunity to vote and have their vote counted.
What's happened since HAVA was passed? When will old voting machines
be retired? Can we trust the new touch screen voting systems,
which promise better accessibility and reduced voter error?
In this bulletin, we present a series of articles that dig into
these issues. Voting reform is now largely in the hands of the
states, so we also encourage you to contact your local Secretary
of State and check into the status of HAVA implementation in your
state. The states need to hear the concerns of voters.
For us, the bottom line is that we must push for modernized
voting systems, because we know that the bad old days of ballot
manipulation and voter intimidation must be put behind us. But,
at the same time, security concerns about touch screen voting are
real and must be taken much more seriously by the states and
counties as they work to implement HAVA.
AFTER REVIEWING THE ARTICLES BELOW, CONTACT YOUR SECRETARY OF STATE
You can find contact information for your state election officer at:
http://www.nass.org/electioninfo/state_contacts.htm
All the states are working to implement HAVA, and though they are
lobbied every day by voting machine manufacturers, they almost never
hear from the general public. Make your call today.
If you wish to weigh in on the Federal legislation proposed to
require a voter verifiable audit trail you can contact your
Representative in Congress. Congressman Rush Holt is seeking
cosponsors for HR 2239, which calls for a voter verifiable
audit trail. The bill can be found at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.R.2239:
The main switchboard for the House of Representatives is
House Switchboard: 202-224-3121
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A VOTING AND DEMOCRACY PRIMER
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BEYOND VOTING MACHINES: HAVA AND REAL ELECTION REFORM
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COMPUTER VOTING IS OPEN TO EASY FRAUD, EXPERTS SAY
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THE THEFT OF YOUR VOTE IS JUST A CHIP AWAY
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THE VOTING RIGHTS STRUGGLE OF OUR TIME
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ADVOCATES' GUIDE TO THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT
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JIM CROW REVIVED IN CYBERSPACE
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BALLOTS CAN KEEP BULLETS FROM FLYING
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ABOUT THE MOVEON BULLETIN AND MOVEON.ORG
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by Joan Blades and Wes Boyd
Don Hazen, AlterNet
Election 2000 introduced a host of new voting issues for Americans to
worry about, from flaws in electronic voting machines to voter roll
purges. Now, with voting reform opportunities imminent, this overview
will give you an introduction to the issues at hand and highlight the
articles to follow.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16472
Miles Rapoport, AlterNet
The details of the Florida 2000 election proved, to Americans of all
political persuasions, that our election laws are broken. Yet the
debacle also created an opening for voting reform that we have not
seen for decades. Today we have a real and concrete chance to shape
the way America votes. Effective organizing over the next several
months will create genuine new opportunities to expand the vote --
but there is no time to waste.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16490
John Schwartz, New York Times
A team of computer security researchers say the software in
electronic voting machines contains serious flaws that would allow
voters to cast extra votes and permit poll workers to alter ballots.
Voting machine companies, however, insist their code is proprietary
and have refused to submit the software to public review. This might
just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems with
computerized voting systems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/24/technology/24VOTE.html
Thom Hartmann, AlterNet
You'd think in an open democracy that the government rather than a
handful of corporations would program, repair and control the voting
machines. You'd think the computers that handle our ballots would be
open and their software and programming available for public
scrutiny. You'd think there would be a paper trail of the actual
hand-cast vote, which could be audited if there was evidence of
voting fraud or if exit polls disagreed with computerized vote
counts. You'd be wrong.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16474
Kim Alexander, AlterNet
The biggest problem with computerized voting systems is that they are
not transparent. Some who think we don't need a paper trail tend to
portray those of us who insist we do as paranoid conspiracy
theorists. But any reasonable person who takes a moment to think
about it quickly understands why it's not a good idea to trust 100
percent computerized, paperless voting systems run on secret software.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16476
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 impacts every part of the voting
process, from voting machines to provisional ballots, from voter
registration to poll worker training. Here are some hands-on
suggestions to ensure that HAVA will be properly implemented by
election officials, legislators and advocates in each state.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16493
Greg Palast and Martin Luther King III, GregPalast.com
While the media chased butterfly ballots and hanging chads after the
2000 election, a more sinister and devastating attack on voting
rights went almost undetected: the computerized purges of legal
voters from the registries. The overwhelming majority were innocent
of any crime -- and just over half were black or Hispanic.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15890
John Moyers and Elizabeth Ready, TomPaine.com
A register-for-peace drive and a massive get-out-the-vote effort
aimed at peace-minded citizens could bring a groundswell of new
voters to the polls in 2004. Find out what several progressive groups
are doing to educate, activate and involve everyday Americans in the
electoral process.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/7605
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