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An Open Letter to All MD Senators |
TrueVoteMD, along with election integrity group SAVEOurVotes, signed and sent the following
letter to all members of the Maryland Senate on Friday, March 29, 2007, explaining our
position that HB18, as amended and passed unanimously by the House of
Delegates, is the voter-verified paper audit trail bill that
should be passed this legislative session.
March 29, 2007
An
Open Letter to All Members of the Maryland Senate
We, the undersigned representatives of statewide grassroots citizen
associations committed to protecting democracy in Maryland, are writing
to urge your full support for House Bill 18 as amended -- a
Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) bill that will meet voters'
demands to restore election integrity to Maryland.
HB18, which passed the House unanimously on March 18 and crossed over
before the deadline, maintains the three essential components for an
acceptable VVPAT bill:
1. Provides provisions for voter verification instead of
“independent verification”;
2. Makes the paper ballot the official vote record for
audits and recounts;
3. Requires mandatory audits of election results to
confirm accuracy.
HB 18 also reflects a significant but acceptable compromise between the
legislature, concerned about a growing fiscal deficit, and election
integrity activists. These compromises include:
1. Delaying new system implementation until 2010 (not
2008);
2. Reducing mandatory audit provisions from 5% to 2%;
3. Making implementation null and void unless funded in
the Governor’s budget next year.
HB18 establishes standards that will ensure that every vote can be
verified and has been counted accurately. The most cost-effective
method of implementing this more secure system is by using optical scan
machines.
This bill does not require the Governor to spend $20-$30 million
dollars in one year. All major capital purchases, including our current
voting system, have been financed over several years to alleviate
fiscal burdens. Therefore, the purchase of the new system can also be
financed over several years or leased on a year-to-year basis.
The $3-5 million per year we could save by operating a new system would
almost completely offset the purchase price of a new system.
As representatives of citizen organizations dedicated to secure,
accessible and accurate elections, we urge you to support Senate
passage of HB18 as it was passed in the House and restore election
integrity to Maryland elections.
Sincerely,
| SAVEOurVotes |
TrueVoteMD |
Shelley Fudge, Co-Director
Columbia, Maryland
Contact: 410-381-1811
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Shazia N. Anwar, Director
Takoma Park, MD
Contact: 301-270-6150
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