TrueVoteMD supports the passage of the Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act of 2007 (also known as the HR 811) because it would
mandate and fund a switch to optical scan paper ballots in time for the
crucial 2008 Presidential elections. Below is a letter that we sent to
each member of the Maryland congressional delegation last week,
encouraging them to support HR 811 when the bill reaches the full House
floor for debate.
May 25, 2007
Dear Maryland Congressional delegation:
As the leading state election integrity group on the issue
of paper trail in Maryland, TrueVoteMD urges your strong support of HR
811, the
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007, in the
upcoming floor
debate by the full House of Representatives. With this letter, we
present
information concerning several points raised by various other members
of the
voting debate, including: the need for audits; cost concerns;
feasibility; and
the effect this bill will have on voter confidence and the recruitment
of
election judges. We assure you that this bill is realistic in
presenting
solutions for the 2008 presidential election year.
Audits. The audit provisions of HR 811 are
a critical
step forward for safe and accurate elections that do not exist under
Maryland
law today. HR 811 would require a 10% audit of all precincts involved
in a
federal race where the two leading contenders have less than a 1%
margin of
victory, and lesser audit percentages for larger initial margins. These
audit
provisions are critical to ensure that our voting machines used to
tabulate our
votes have not been intentionally manipulated or are unexpectedly
malfunctioning. Many states have audit requirements already but Maryland
has
no defined audit percentage requirement even with our new paper trail
law
recently signed by Governor Martin O’Malley last week. All national
computer
scientists and voting experts recommend strong audit requirements as an
essential element of voting procedures.
Purchasing New Equipment in Time. While we
are aware
of the potential difficulties of implementing a major voting system
change in
time for 2008, we are also aware that jurisdictions around the country
have
made voting system changes from DREs to optical scan within two months
(CT) to
nine months (NC), including conducting open-bid procurement processes,
and
hardware and software certification testing. The Florida legislature,
in
fact, recently banned DREs in favor of paper ballots, and intends
to make a
statewide switch to optical scan in time for 2008 regardless of HR
811. In addition, concerns expressed by
Maryland officials over paper-trail technology being “new” technology
are
unfounded. Almost 50% of US voters used paper ballots in the 2006
general
election, and well over 50% will use optically scanned paper ballots in
the
2008 presidential election. Furthermore, almost every state in the
nation has
used optical scans to count their absentee ballots for decades,
including
Maryland. In particular, Maryland election officials have used this
technology
in every county to count our absentee ballots, including more than
150,000 in
our 2006 general election. Looking further back in Maryland election
history,
prior to our switch to the paperless voting machines in 2002, 19 of 24 Maryland jurisdictions used optical
scan systems as their primary voting system. Optical scan technology is
the most secure voting system in the market today, and will likely
remain so
for many years to come. What is required is not a delay in making this
change
happen, but a mandate to conduct every election in Maryland with the
most
secure and accurate technology available.
Funding. The fact that HR 811 provides
financial
assistance to those states that need to make a significant change is
reason
enough to support the bill. Given our recent enactment of the voter
verified
paper ballots bill this past legislative session, Maryland has decided
to make
the switch contemplated in HR 811. This bill will provide federal
funds to
finance the change required by our new verified voting law, and thus
relieve
the State of a $20 million expense that could be used to address our
other
financial needs. With our current $1.5 billion deficit, our
Congressional
delegation should be doing everything it can to support this bill to
help
navigate our difficult financial future.
Recruiting election judges. We witnessed
the largest
involvement of citizen participation in elections monitoring during the
2006
elections with poll watching projects around the country. Concerns
about our
national voting integrity were rampant in every jurisdiction. Contrary
to some
claims, HR 811 would not reduce the number of election judges Maryland
is able
to recruit, but would more likely increase it. According to various
surveys,
the average age of an election judge is approximately 70-72 years. Senior
citizens have had major problems with the paperless DREs because they
are
bulky, heavy, difficult to set up, and extremely complicated to
administer.
In addition, numerous machines are required in each polling site, with
some
having upwards of 12-15 per precinct. With optical scan technology,
only one
optical scan machine and one ballot-marking device are needed in every
polling
site, for a total of 4,000 machines in Maryland, because one op scan
machine
handles approximately 2,000 voters. These optical scan machines have
been used
in Maryland before, as mentioned earlier, and most senior citizens are
comfortable with their simpler technology. In addition, the inroads
made this
past election cycle in recruiting college students and other
non-traditional
election judges will not be affected by the changeover.
Voter Confidence. Passing HR 811 will
improve voter
confidence because voters will know that the new system is more
reliable and
will result in more accurate elections. Voters are familiar with
this
technology, from previous Maryland elections and other areas of their
lives,
including standardized school testing. The 2008 presidential
election will
determine the political paths of the US and the world as it relates to
peace,
war and climate change. Maryland citizens want to make this important
decision
using technology that they know will accurately and securely record and
report
their vote. By mandating the use of paper and optical scan technology,
the
federal government is ensuring that the 2008 elections are the most
secure
elections in the new millennium.
Cost. Maryland election officials have
expressed
concern that the changeover will result in local jurisdictions
incurring
additional costs, on top of the remaining payments for the DREs. While
local
payment requirements vary, every jurisdiction that switches from DREs
to
optical scan technology will begin to save money immediately because the
operating and maintenance costs of optical scans is significantly less
than the
DREs. In Maryland, the cost to operate an election using DREs has more
than
doubled once the local jurisdictions began using them. By switching
to
optical scans, our jurisdictions could see savings similar to other
jurisdictions that have reported an operational cost savings of 30-40%
as
compared to DREs. As mentioned earlier, optical scan machines are
easier to
operate, store, maintain and repair than DREs, because fewer machines
are
required and their overall technology is much simpler.
Time to change. Maryland election officials
have
pleaded that this federal legislation should not be enacted so that
election
officials can have more time to perfect the current system. In
contrast,
national technological standards and guidelines are moving towards
effectively
banning the current paperless voting system, and many states, including
most
recently Florida, have already banned DREs by legislation. There is no
reason
to give election officials more time to “perfect” a paperless voting
system
that will be replaced by either federal or state legislation. The Maryland legislation referenced above that
passed both chambers unanimously will, if funded, require Maryland to
certify
an optical scan paper ballot system and decertify the current system in
time
for the 2010 elections. Maryland’s current paperless DRE
voting
system is eventually going to be decertified and retracted, and the
time and
resources of Maryland election officials will be better spent updating
training
materials for switching to paper ballots and optical scan machines than
working
to “perfect” the current system.
While we are acutely
aware of the political barriers to
improving voting standards in Maryland, we will continue to push
forward those
mechanisms that will provide all Maryland citizens with a more secure
and
accurate method of voting. Please keep in mind that Maryland has over
600
documented voting incidents with the current non-verifiable system, so
this
bill has a very direct bearing on the accuracy of the 2008 House of
Representatives and Presidential election in our state. The concerns
you have
heard from Maryland election officials reflect not only a lack of
commitment from
our highest election officials, but the need for change in our overall
election
administration. How can the citizens of Maryland trust our elections to
accurately reflect our vote when our own election officials fight
against
changes that are known to improve voting integrity?
HR 811 is a critical mechanism that will improve Maryland
elections, and we hope that you will show your full support during the
coming
House floor deliberations.
Sincerely,
Shazia N. Anwar
Director, TrueVoteMD
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