"Campaign for Verifiable Voting in Maryland"
www.TrueVoteMD.org · 7711 Garland Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912 ·
301-270-6150
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
TrueVoteMD.org
October 6, 2004
Linda Schade 301-270-6665
Bob Ferraro 301-768-1163
TrueVoteMD Files First Amendment Suit to Gain Access to Polls
Charges Election Board With Discrimination and First Amendment Violations
On Election Day, hundreds of Maryland voters around the state will be sporting
buttons entitled 'Pollwatcher: Defending Democracy' and handing out flyers entitled
'How to Report Problems with the Touch Screen Voting Machines', as part of a
statewide effort to document voter disenfranchisement. The question is whether
those poll watchers will be inside or outside the polling place.
Today, the election integrity group TrueVoteMD is filing a second lawsuit against
State Administrator Linda Lamone and the Maryland State Board of Elections (See
TrueVoteMD.org for full legal documents). The suit charges the Board with trying
to hide paperless electronic voting from public scrutiny by refusing to credential
TrueVote poll watchers. The suit, filed in federal court in Baltimore, seeks
a court order requiring Maryland to credential TrueVote poll watchers to monitor
the election from inside polling places as well as within 100 feet from the polls.
"
The use of paperless electronic voting in Maryland has been marred by serious
problems. Three weeks ago in PG County's special election machines failed to
boot up, candidates failed to appear on the ballot and the modem crashed while
transmitting votes, it is clear these machines need to be watched closely. During
previous elections we now know that people received incomplete ballots missing
candidates, machines failed to boot, technicians without identification worked
on machines making undocumented alterations. The State Board of Elections told
the media and the public that the machines worked flawlessly, but since then
local Boards of Elections reported widespread problems," said Linda Schade
of TrueVoteMD. "It is important that on Election Day the public be told
the truth and not be fed misinformation by the state board."
On August 16, 2004 TrueVoteMD.org sent a letter requesting that it be permitted
to designate hundreds of TrueVoteMD members as pollwatchers. The State Board
did not respond to the letter but subsequently added language to its web page
to explicitly exclude non-profits and issue campaigns from the list of "groups
of voters" eligible to observe elections. Prior to TrueVote's request
non-profits were not excluded from being poll watchers.
When attorneys for TrueVoteMD, Daniel D. Williams and William P. Ashworth of
Williams & Connolly LLP, informed the State Attorney General's Office that
TrueVoteMD intended to file suit to enforce its right to designate pollwatchers,
the Attorney General's office, on behalf of the State Election Board, agreed
to a settlement resulting in the full credentialing of TrueVoteMd's non-partisan
citizen poll watchers by the State Election Board. Two days later, Judy Armold,
an attorney with the state AG's office, threatened to retract the credentialing
agreement because TrueVote, like other non-partisans like exit pollers plans
to operate within the 100 foot barrier.
"
It is important for TrueVote to separate itself from the partisan election activists
so that voters know we are non-partisan and so they realize our materials are
merely trying to educate them about voting machines and gather information about
the operation of the machines. Being seen as partisan activists undermines poll
watching," said Schade. "It is a shame the State Board of Elections
takes a antagonistic approach regarding our efforts to gather information.
If they were more confident about the operation of these machines they would
welcome
our efforts."
TrueVoteMD has recruited hundreds of pollwatchers for its statewide monitoring
effort. Bob Ferraro, also a Co-Founder of TrueVoteMd explained, "Since
the State Board has been unwilling to acknowledge -- let alone document --
problems
with this touch-screen voting system, citizen poll watchers must step in to
fill this gap."
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