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INVEST
IN FAIR, ACCURATE ELECTIONS IN PENNSLVANIA -- SUPPORT VotePA!
NORTHAMPTON
COUNTY SHOWS A LOT OF VOTING MACHINES, BUT LITTLE SENSE
Review of the Northampton County
Voting Machine Vendor Fair, January 15, 2008
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA
Voters, vendors, and voting
machines jammed into a third floor meeting room in the Northampton
County Courthouse in Easton this week, as Northampton, Lackawanna,
and Wayne counties came together to view potential replacement
voting systems for their now-decertified AVS WINvote touchscreen
machines.
Assuming that no federal money
becomes available, the purchase of mew machines by the three
counties will be funded by the taxpayers of Pennsylvania in what
amounts to a $4 million bailout of the original vendor.
After a closed-door morning
session between officials and vendors that excluded the public,
dozens of citizens and members of the press attended the afternoon
demonstration.
With machines lined up and
slick salesmen pushing hard during the demonstration time allotted
to each of them, it was a scene reminiscent of the heady days
back in 2005 and early 2006 when the Help America Vote Act had
every county in the nation scrambling to buy whatever new or
used "HAVA compliant" voting system vendors had available
to promote.
 But this time, citizens came armed
with something new the knowledge that in intensive tests
recently commissioned by multiple Secretaries of State, computer
scientists have proven electronic voting systems to be hopelessly
insecure and unreliable. Many in the audience were well aware
that only a combination of paper ballots and meaningful audits
can provide any assurance at all that the will of the people
is being followed in an election.
[MORE]
See Channel
69 WFMZ Report with VotePA Executive Director commenting.
Northampton
Update: Used Sequoia Advantage Machines to be Purchased with
Pennsylvania Taxpayers' Dollars
Northampton County
Makes An Incredibly Hasty and Foolish Choice of Voting Machines
By Marybeth Kuznik,
VotePA
Friday, January 18, 2008
Barely 48 hours after the last voting machine was packed up and
removed from their courthouse following their Tuesday Voting
System Vendors Fair, Northampton County Council voted last evening
to purchase 300 used Sequoia Advantage voting machines at a cost
of $4550 each to replace their decertified AVS WINvote touchscreens
in time for the April Primary.
According to an article in
this morning's Allentown Morning Call, Council voted 7-1 in favor
of the purchase, with Ron Angle opposed and Vice President Wayne
Grube absent.
Ironically, the hasty decision
came the same day that Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey introduced
a bill in Congress that would provide federal funds to pay for
the Noarthampton machines if a system employing a true voter-verified
paper ballot had been chosen.
[MORE]
Because of the Help America
Vote Act, Pennsylvania rushed to make sure that every county
had new a voting system by 2006. Pennsylvania's electronic voting
machines have been hailed by company salespeople and officials
as "safe, secure, and easy" -- BUT ARE THEY??
- Voting machines in 54 of
our most populous counties won't let voters verify that your
vote was recorded as you intended. Without a voter-verified
paper ballot or record, there's no way to do a meaningful audit
or recount. If your vote gets lost, it's gone forever.
- Electronic voting machines
have already lost thousands of votes, in numerous Pennsylvania
counties, and in other states!
- Many areas of PA have reported
inadequate machines, not enough ballots, voter intimidation and
other problems in past elections!
- In past elections, more
incidents were reported to the Election Incident Reporting Service
from Pennsylvania than any other state except Florida!
Citizens can make a difference.
Welcome to VotePA, a state-wide non-partisan group fighting for
all voting rights and election integrity in Pennsylvania.
Congress
gets new election bill to ban controversial machines
Senator Bill Nelson -- November 1, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Electronic
touch voting machines won't be a component of future presidential
and congressional elections, if Congress passes a new bill that
bans most touch-screen devices and requires all voting machines
to produce a paper receipt.
The legislation being
filed today by U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Sheldon Whitehouse,
comes after a meeting Nelson had early this morning with Florida's
chief elections overseer Kurt Browning. Florida's secretary
of state, Browning, met with Nelson in the nation's capital.
It was Florida that recently
imposed a state ban on touch-screen voting machines, following
tests that showed such machines were unreliable and vulnerable
to error.
Nelson's bill would
require all voting machines to produce a voter-verified paper
trail by next year's presidential election and provides up to
$1 billion for states to use for new voting equipment.
The bill would phase out the use of touch-screen voting machines
in federal elections by 2012.
"The bottom line
is we have to ensure every vote is counted and, counted
properly," Nelson said. "Citizens must have confidence
in the integrity of their elections."
The bill by Nelson, a
Florida Democrat, and Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island,
was modeled in part after Florida's recently enacted initiative
aimed at fixing glitches and technical errors that have marred
elections there and led to disputes.
Nelson's bill would be
the first to seek a ban on electronic touch-screen voting machines
in federal elections nationwide, a provision Browning said he
supports. More specifically, the bill says:
- A voter-verified paper ballot
must be produced for every vote cast, beginning with the November
2008 elections.
- Direct recording electronic
voting machines may not be used in federal elections, beginning
in 2012.
- Routine random audits must
be conducted by hand count in 3 percent of the precincts in all
federal elections.
- An arms-length relationship
is established between test labs and voting-machine vendors.
A companion version in the
House, filed by U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, a Democrat from New Jersey,
has been passed by a key committee and is awaiting a vote by
the full chamber.
###
HOLT APPLAUDS
SENATORS NELSON, WHITEHOUSE FOR INTRODUCING COMPANION TO
HIS VOTING BILL
Legislation Would Mandate Voter-Verified Paper Ballots and Routine
Random Audits
(Washington, D.C.) Rep.
Rush Holt (NJ-12) today thanked Senator Bill Nelson of Florida
and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island for introducing an updated
Senate version of his legislation to require
voting systems to produce a voter-verified paper ballot and mandate
routine random audits.
"Senators Nelson and Whitehouse
deserve credit for recognizing the need to give Americans confidence
that elections are accurate and verifiable. I look forward to
working with them to pass this legislation in Congress and send
it to the President for his signature. Congress shouldn't wait
to protect voters' rights, ensure the accuracy of elections,
and increase the confidence of our citizens in their electoral
system."
Earlier this year, the Committee
on House Administration approved the Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act (H.R. 811). Holt is working with House Leadership
to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
###
Why HR 811 Is Good
For Pennsylvania
By Marybeth Kuznik
Executive Director, VotePA
Pennsylvania is truly the Keystone
State in many ways. Geographically, we are centrally located
where the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, southern New England, and
The South all meet. In culture and business our diversity reflects
the nation as a whole. Pennsylvania has two world-class major
urban centers, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but agriculture remains
our #1 industry. We have one of the highest numbers of over-65
seniors of any state but we are also home to millions of young
adults and growing families. We have descendants of the original
settlers with family in the region for hundreds of years living
in the same communities as recent immigrants from around the
globe.
Politically Pennsylvania is
also a keystone in that we are one of the most swinging of the
swing states. We are deep blue in some areas, ruby red in others,
and no party or candidate can take a win in Pennsylvania for
granted. As such, with our 21 electoral votes we are one of the
most targeted states by media, candidates, and just perhaps
by those who might want to perpetrate an election fraud.
In response to the Help America
Vote Act, Pennsylvania has deployed a hodgepodge of some eleven
different voting systems. Of our sixty-seven counties, only nine
have chosen a solid, non-blended system of optical scanner and
accessible ballot marker, and many of those counties tend to
be smaller in population. All through the purchase process for
HAVA compliant machines vendors were fiercely pushing their higher
profit Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) systems throughout the
state. A full fifty-four counties, including the huge counties
that contain Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, ended up purchasing
paperless DREs, some of which are currently the most notorious
machines for lost votes and bad design.
[MORE]
HR 811, Unfunded Mandates,
and the Protection of Civil Rights
The
Hill's Congress Blog -- September 19th, 2007
by Verified Voting Senior Policy Director Warren Stewart
A small but vocal contingent
of fiscal conservatives have responded to the unwarranted complaints
of elections officials about the potential of an unfunded mandate
for the voting system security requirements proposed in The Voter
Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 (HR 811).
Still smarting from the previous Congress' unwillingness to fully
fund the Help America Vote Act of 2002, county clerks and Secretaries
of State have been skeptical that Congress will actually come
through with the $1.1 Billion authorized in the bill.
However, tying HR 811's mandate
to appropriations would set a dangerous precedent for eliminating
the civil rights exemption in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA). In enacting the reform measure, Congress recognized that
the protection of civil rights superseded vagaries of funding
allocations.
HR 811 fully funds the voting
system requirements in the bill with more than $1 billion, and
authorizes more funding for the audit requirements ($100 million
annually) than the Congressional Budget Office deemed necessary
($50 to $60 million). In addition, as confirmed by the text of
HR 811's CBO Score, "All provisions of H.R. 811 would be
excluded from the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act."
Leadership and the Appropriations
Committee should calm the fears of election officials and their
representatives in Congress by publicly committing to fully fund
HR 811.
[MORE]
NEW YORK
TIMES: PA Among States Likely To Experience Voting Machine Problems
According To Experts
Read October 18, 2006
front-page article HERE
Movie Review:
"Man Of The Year"
By Marybeth Kuznik,
VotePA.us
October 14, 2006 -- "Man
Of The Year" is a somewhat dark comedy in which a computer
software "glitch" (FAILURE!) causes national TV comedian
Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) to get elected President of the United
States. The story begins when a fan suggests a run for the White
House during Dobbs' TV show, and a subsequent national grassroots
internet movement gets him onto the ballot in thirteen big states
as an independent candidate. After an invitation to participate
in the National Presidential Debate, Dobbs gets revved up with
dynamic anti-major-party and vote-for-change rhetoric that hints
at a totally over-the-top version of our movement's own David
Cobb on the Green Party campaign trail. Or perhaps Dobbs evokes
Kinky Friedman, now running for Governor in Texas, who has one
of his real-life quips on gay marriage actually used by Dobbs
in the film.
Dobbs' total honesty and jabbing
humor resonate with enough voters that, although he is not expected
to win, results coming in his favor from the thirteen states
on election night seem plausible enough to cause his election
to be ultimately accepted by the American public. But in the
meantime, an honest employee of the Delacroy Voting System Company
(supplying all machines nationally to the election) learns of
the software problem that in reality threw the result to Dobbs.
Will she be able to get the word out? And should she? [MORE]
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Sequoia
Advantage Recertification Exam
by Steve Strahs,
Montgomery County Election Reform Network
October 11, 2006 -- At long
last, just a month before the election and after at least three
postponements, Sequoia came in for its recertification test last
week in Harrisburg for the Advantage AVC vote machine and - especially
- its Win EDS software. Win EDS, the ballot installation
and vote tabulation software, had flunked the test last March
and wasn't used to tabulate the votes for the May primary.
This time around the examination went much more smoothly for
Sequoia, although there were still some problems.
Marybeth Kuznik and I attended, wearing our white hats.
All in all, though, examiner
Michael Shamos, while not issuing a recommendation on-the-spot,
seemed pleased and praised Sequoia for the enormous effort that
he said went into making the software improvements. More
tellingly, perhaps, was the cheery disposition of the four Sequoia
staffers, including VP Paul Nulty, upon conclusion of the exam.
Despite some pretty anxious moments, the Sequoia people and the
Secretary of State's office staffers walked out happy.
Shamos estimates his official report will take about two weeks
to issue, but Montgomery County has already started upgrading
the machines, downloading the software and starting on the Logic
and Accuracy tests. [MORE]
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A Good Show,
But Questions Remain: Sequoia AVC Advantage Recertification Exam
by PA Office of Secretary of State
by Marybeth Kuznik,
VotePA
October 11, 2006 -- Entertaining
showmanship was the order of the day as Pennsylvania voting system
examiner Dr. Michael I. Shamos cast his eye over the Sequoia
AVC Advantage and its WinEDS ballot installation and tabulation
software in Harrisburg last week. The testing was being redone
after the WinEDS software failed so badly in March, 2006 on the
AVC Advantage machine that the examination then had to be suspended
in the middle. Dr. Shamos noted that Sequoia had advanced the
software approximately 60 revision numbers since March, and had
added features as well as claiming to have corrected problems.
Dressed in a colorful orange
polka-dot tie and orange and white striped shirt, Shamos strolled
about the exam room, posturing frequently in front of a large
LCD projection of the screen under scrutiny newly added for those
in attendance to observe. At one point he even rendered a mime
of a bound Harry Houdini escaping from chains to make his point
that locks on a voting machine do not equate with security. The
effect was not so much of a thorough scientific examination,
but rather that of a polished performance designed to show an
audience how thoroughly the testing was being done. [MORE]
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HEARTBREAK
IN PENNSYLVANIA'S HEARTLAND:
CENTRE COUNTY JOINS THE MASSES ON PAPERLESS iVotronic TOUCHSCREENS
By Marybeth Kuznik,
VotePA
june 26, 2005
Centre County represents the
heart of Pennsylvania in more ways than one.
A physical and cultural crossroads,
and a meeting point, Centre County is something of a microcosm
of the Keystone State in general. Nestled between mountain ridges
and located at the geographical center of Pennsylvania, Centre
is home to the main campus of the Pennsylvania State University
along with much new industry and development. But in contrast,
the county also contains thousands of acres of fertile farmland
and traditional ways from the past. Centre County citizens and
voters encompass the youthful energy of the Penn State students,
progressive ideals of many faculty members, and traditional conservative
views of rural residents. The diversity, cultural mix, and climate
of knowledge and learning found in Centre County reflects the
legacy and true spirit of William Penn's 'great experiment.'
Perhaps more than any other
county in the state, Centre initially seemed ideally poised to
make the wise choice of a paper-based, verifiable optical scan
system after its citizens became involved in the process of voting
machine selection. But sadly, after months of advocacy and educational
work by active, concerned voters and poll workers, the Centre
County Election Board voted to buy paperless iVotronic touchscreens
last week in a 2-1 party-line vote. Centre County will now 'join
the masses' of counties nationwide that trust their democracy
and their sacred right to vote to the accuracy of the privately-held
ES&S Corporation's proprietary counting software. [MORE]
COMMON CAUSE
REPORT: PENNSYLVANIA ONE OF 17 STATES AT "HIGH RISK"
FOR COMPROMISED ELECTION RESULTS DUE TO ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE
PROBLEMS
June 22, 2006: A
new report released today by Common Cause concludes that the
push to use direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines
was misguided, has resulted in serious security and reliability
concerns, and should be reversed. The report also assesses states
at greatest risk of having elections compromised due to problems
with voting machines, presents information on voting systems
used by each states and makes recommendations on safeguarding
votes to citizens who must use a DRE in November.
The report, "Malfunction and Malfeasance: A Report on the
Electronic Voting Machine Debacle," finds that 17 states,
including critical swing states such as Pennsylvania, are at
"high" risk of having election results compromised
due to problems with voting machines known as DREs. [MORE]
You
can still report your own May 16 Primary Election problems with voting
machines HERE , or call 724-347-6615
HARDWARE
AND SOFTWARE DISCREPANCIES QUESTION INTEGRITY OF iVotronic
VOTING MACHINES IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY
June1,
2006, by VotePA members of Allegheny County
Serious procedural, operational,
and design issues call into question the results from ES&S
iVotronic voting machines used in Allegheny County in the May
16th primary election
Poll-worker statements and post-election analysis of voting-machine
printouts from the election reveal that electronic voting machines
ran program code not legally certified for use in Pennsylvania.
It also appears that two different models of the ES&S iVotronic
machine were used, one of which was not legally certified. Other
print-outs demonstrate operational problems at many polling places
and serious problems with the integrity of the iVotronic "zeroprint"
function, which is supposed to ensure the public that electronic
"ballot-box stuffing" does not occur. The Allegheny
County chapter of VotePA calls on County election officials to
immediately and conclusively remedy these concerns and upgrade
or replace systems as necessary to provide voters the assurance
that every vote is accurately recorded and counted. [MORE]
Report from
VotePA Allegheny County:
2006 PRIMARY ELECTION
PROBLEMS WITH iVOTRONIC
Additional
press releases HERE and HERE .
PA CITIZENS
ASK CONGRESS FOR VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER RECORDS
Two
new co-sponsors from Pennsylvania
April 2006
-- A group of Pennsylvania voters from across the state visited
Washington D.C. as part of the "I Count" Lobby Days
to get support for HR 550, the Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act of 2005.
"I Count
Lobby Days was organized by the HR 550 "I Count!" Lobby
Days Coalition -- Common Cause, Electronic Frontier Foundation,
VerifiedVoting.org, VotersUnite.org, VoteTrustUSA, and Working
Assets. VotePA participated as an affiliate, organizing meetings
with PA Congressional members and staff.
Two new co-sponsors,
Jim Gerlach (R) of the 6th District and Tim Holden (D) of the
17th, signed on to support the bill for voter-verified paper
records and routine audits of all elections.
With several
hundred citizen-lobbyists from all over the USA, overall nine
new co-sponsors nationwide, bringing the total support to about
180 members of Congress.
We urge all
remaining Congressmen and women to support this important legislation!
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WESTMORELAND
LAWSUIT UPDATE, 5/8/06: STILL NO PA SUPREME COURT
OPINION to explain things, all we have is that quickie decision
AGAINST the Westmoreland Citizens!
3-2-06
DARK DAY FOR DEMOCRACY: CITIZENS' LAWSUIT TO PROTECT THE PA CONSTITUTION
-- AND OUR RIGHT TO DECIDE HOW WE VOTE -- TOSSED ASIDE BY PA
SUPREME COURT
With less than
24 hours deliberation, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday
against Westmoreland County citizens who were suing to preserve
their state constitutional right to choose their voting system
by referendum. The state Supreme Court decision vacated Commonwealth
Court Judge Dan Pellegrini's order for injunctive relief and
reversed the portions of his order granting relief on the portions
of the order granting relief on the action for Declaratory Judgement
and the Complaint in Equity. The order, which consisted of three
short sentences, basically paved the way for Pennsylvania counties
to move forward and buy the paperless, unverifiable voting machines
that threaten the core of our Democracy.
Shockingly,
Governor Ed Rendell (who to his credit has gone on record saying
that Pennsylvania will have a paper ballot, and has taken
other actions to protect our vote) issued a press
release
COMMENDING the court for this action that apparently tossed
aside our State Constitution. And this same week, his Secretary
of State, Pedro Cortés drew national
attention
when he made a public
statement
dismissing the need for the protection of Voter-Verified Paper
Records on Pennsylvania voting systems.
Shame on you,
Governor Rendell and Secretary Cortés! Please take the
next step to protect our vote NOW -- call for public hearings
on Voter-Verified Paper Records (as recommended nearly a year
ago by your Governor's Task Force on Election Reform) and support
the passage of SB 977 / HB 2000 to protect our vote with voter-verified
paper records on all voting systems and routine audits of all
elections.
Between the
PA Supreme Court, the Governor, the Secretary, and the federal
government, who is bowing to what kind of political pressure
here?
The Supreme
Court's order said, "Opinion to Follow." Given the
speed that the court deliberated and reversed the decision that
favored the Westmoreland County citizens, we hope that likewise
this document will be posted soon. The citizens deserve to see
that opinion and to know why their rights under our State Constitution
appear to have been tossed away.
TIMELINE
OF THE WESTMORELAND COUNTY LAWSUIT HERE
Left: Chuck Pascal, attorney
who is handled the ground-breaking Butler-Cambria & Westmoreland
lawsuits to uphold the Pennsylvania State Constitution in the
face of HAVA.
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IS AN ELECTORAL
MELTDOWN IN PENNSYLVANIA'S NEAR FUTURE?
MARCH 27, 2006 -- With
the all-important May 16, 2006 Pennsylvania Primary election
only fifty days away, many Keystone State counties are deperately
scrambling to obtain voting machines that will allow them to
comply with the Help America Vote Act.
Although many Pennsylvania
counties have yet to sign a contract , most of
the vendors who have voting systems certified for use under HAVA
in Pennsylvania have bluntly stated that at this point they will
be unable to supply the necessary voting machines and training
for county staff and pollworkers in time. Those who are still
accepting orders have been cutting supplies of machines to the
counties (meaning that there may be inadequate numbers of machines
and long lines to vote in May), and there is speculation afoot
that some vendors are using the desperate "seller's market"
to negotiate contracts that will be less than favorable to counties,
voters, and taxpayers. [MORE]
Op-Ed /
Zogby Poll: PENNSYLVANIANS WANT VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER!
But
Diebold Dangles Deep Discounts to Grab HAVA Contracts in Keystone
State
By Marybeth Kuznik,
VotePA
January 30 -- By overwhelming
majority, Pennsylvania voters want the security and accuracy
of a voter-verified paper record or ballot, according to the
most recent OpEdNews.com
/ Zogby People's Poll. Zogby International conducted interviews
of 850 likely Pennsylvania voters online on January 26th and
27th. The poll consisted of over 70 questions, including questions
on privatization of electronic election technology, voter registration,
and more.
One of the most stunning results
showed that only 11.6% of respondents viewed electronic voting
as trustworthy. Approximately 85% want some form of voter-verified
paper record to protect and preserve their vote, with 73% supporting
Electronic voting with paper records and 12% supporting paper
ballots or lever machines only. [MORE]
 VOTERS ANNOUNCE 10-COUNTY CITIZENS'
COALITION FOR A VERIFIED PAPER BALLOT
December 29 , 2005-- In response
to the reported "10-County Coalition" allegedly formed
by our elected and appointed county officials to negotiate with
voting system vendors and other parties to purchase electronic
voting machines with money available under the Help America Vote
Act, citizens of Westmoreland, Allegheny, Butler, Washington,
Beaver, Mercer, and other Western Pennsylvania counties held
a press conference Thursday afternoon to announce the formation
of 10-County Citizens' Coalition For Voter Verified Paper Ballots.
The the following statement
was made at the announcement in Court House Square in Greensburg
immediately following the Westmoreland County Commissioners meeting
where officials voted unanimously to purchase paperless iVotronic
voting machines from ES & S of Nebraska.
Formation of the 10-County
Citizens' Coalition For Voter Verified Paper Ballots:
With the formation of this
coalition we call for all voting systems chosen by our officials
and purchased by our counties to have the ability to produce
a full size, high-quality, human readable and recountable voter
verified paper record or ballot.
We request that our counties
cooperate with voters and citizens' groups and that officials
utilize the assistance and input of knowledgeable people in our
communities to choose accessible, accurate, auditable, and affordable
voting systems.
We demand that all transactions
and negotiations for voting systems be done in an open and transparent
manner by our counties.
We call for our counties and
communities to join Allegheny County Council and Pittsburgh City
Council to pass motions or resolutions in support of voter verified
paper records with audits and in support of the bills HB 2000
/ SB 977 currently pending in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
[MORE]
VotePA ASKS
OUR GOVENOR TO HELP DELAY HAVA & PROTECT OUR ELECTIONS!
VotePA
Spearheads Letter to Rendell
Many PA
counties simply will not be ready with new voting machines and
trained workers by our primary election on May 16. The following
letter was sent to Governor Ed Rendell later in late March, urging
him to do all in his power to negotiate a delay in the HAVA deadline
for our state. Please contact VotePA HERE if you would like
to add your organization to the list of co-signers, which includes:
The Black Political Empowerment
Project (B-PEP), Butler County Democrats for Change (D-PAC),
Centre County Coalition of Concerned Voters, Common Cause/PA,
Democracy for Pittsburgh, Election Reform Network (Montgomery
County), Erie C.A.L.L., Mercer County Citizens for Better Government,
National Election Archive Project/USCountVotes.org, PA-VerifiedVoting,
Pennsylvania Council of Churches, Roots of Promise/Thomas Merton
Center, VotersUnite.org, VoteTrustUSA
Dear Governor Rendell:
The undersigned organizations
are writing to urge you to contact the United States Department
of Justice to request that our state be given until the November
2006 federal election to comply with Section 102 of the Help
America Vote Act.
The official deadline of our
May primary election is unreasonable and unworkable for Pennsylvania.
Due to the late formation of the Election Assistance Commission,
and back-ups in the Independent Testing Authority process of
testing machines to the 2002 federal standards, as of now several
voting systems were still awaiting their first certification
examination by our Pennsylvania Department of State in late March.
There is no conceivable way
that systems still being tested in late March can be delivered
to the counties and reliably be up and running by May 16, especially
when you consider both the logistics of delivery and all the
training required to prepare county and precinct election officials.
Things will be vastly different and more complex than the machines
these people have used for decades and the local and county workers
need to be properly prepared. Without time for counties to choose
their machines carefully and train workers thoroughly, we could
be heading for an electoral disaster. [MORE]
NEWS ¨ NEWS ¨
NEWS ¨ NEWS
Office of the Governor,
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2006
Governor Rendell Signs Veto
Message Protecting Fundamental Right to Vote of PA Citizens,
Says Bill Places Unnecessary Burden on Voters
HARRISBURG
Governor Edward G. Rendell today formally vetoed House Bill 1318,
calling the bill anunnecessary burden that will result in some
Pennsylvania residents losing their right to vote. [MORE]
Activists
work with Allegheny County on Voting Machine Evaluation Process
By Pat Clark, The
Center for Civic Participation and Everybody
VOTE
November 28, 2005
Original article and links
here: http://www.ccp.org/states/PA/votingrights.html
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
mandates that counties choose electronic voting machines by January
1, 2006, and that the voting technology be accessible to individuals
with disabilities in a way that provides the same opportunity
for access and participation, including privacy and independence,
as for other voters. This is an important selection process that
has to occur within an extremely short timeframe. The result
of the decisions around these machines will affect voting for
decades to come.
Allegheny County had originally
intended to present its final decision without public input but
was induced by local community activists, particularly those
representing the disability community, to allow those with disabilities,
as well as the general public, to inspect and test machines prior
to the County's decision.
So, on Thursday, November 17,
2005, in response to HAVA, Allegheny County hosted three sessions
to test new voting machines. The HAVA committee members attended
a private session (8:30-10:30 am); the ADA and community activists
attended a 10:30am-12:30pm session; and the general public attended
the 1:00 - 9:00 pm session. We were committed to ensuring that
valid, reliable, consistent data was collected at these sessions
so that the County factored public input into its decisions.
[MORE]
 PENNSYLVANIA GETS A BIG LUMP
OF COAL FROM HARRISBURG FOR CHRISTMAS
December 26, 2005 -- Immediately
before closing up shop for the long weekend last Friday afternoon,
the Pennsylvania Department of State uploaded a holiday present
to its HAVA website that left election integrity activists and
many voters in the state thinking they had just been whacked
in the head with a lump of coal.
The lovely little Christmas
package actually put quite a few lumps in Keystone State stockings
-- including the announcement of yet another examination
go-round with Jack Gerbel and his UniLect Patriot DRE. Pennsylvania
state certification documents were also uploaded for ES &
S and Diebold paperless touchscreen DREs.
The UniLect Patriot was listed
as scheduled on January 4 for its fourth re-examination in less
than a year by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Unfortunately,
Pennsylvania law allows what appears to be unlimited attempts
by a decertified or denied vendor to demand re-examinations at
what is at least partial taxpayer expense.
Also listed for January examinations
are products by Sequoia, including the "Edge 2, Update",
the "Advantage Full face", and the "Insight Optical
Scan". The Sequoia Advantage is already in use in several
Pennsylvania counties and no word has been received by citizens
there as to how or when their current Advantage systems can be
made HAVA-compliant.
In the way of new certifications,
the Friday Department of State upload announced several... [MORE]
PA DEPARTMENT
OF STATE "EXTENDS" HAVA DEADLINE (sort of)
December 7 , 2005-- Counties
may be able to obtain more time to make their selection of voting
systems under a memorandum issued this week by the Pennsylvania
Department of State. Basically, this new decision means that
in order to comply with the Help America Vote Act a county must
do one of two things (our wording, not the official ruling):
1) Buy a machine now that is
both federally and state certified now (such as AccuPoll, which
was first to be certified in PA and which got its certification
in order and done in a very timely manner.) Start getting the
staff trained, and the pollworkers trained, and be ready to have
everything in place by May Primary.
2) The County Commissioners
write a resolution by the end of this year, legally obligating
(encumbering) all monies they receive from HAVA . The resolution
should detail how the HAVA monies will be distributed - administration,
voter education and all other requirements of HAVA, including
how much of the monies will be committed to the purchase of a
voting system - they are NOT obligated to state a specific voting
system in this resolution, simply lay out their clear plan of
how the HAVA monies will be dispersed/spent. And then - even
though they will be choosing their system a month or two (or
more) LATER - they will still have to have all the staff and
pollworkers trained on the system they finally choose and have
everything in place by May Primary.
[MORE]
PA Danaher
Re-Exam: Blame the Pollworkers!
By Marybeth Kuznik,
VotePA
November 02, 2005 -- Eclipsed
by late-night theatrics in the Pennsylvania Assembly over a controversial
pay raise legislators voted themselves last summer, the citizen-petition
re-examination of the Danaher 1242 voting system received little
attention in the Pennsylvania press.
The 1242 Machines, first certified
for use in Pennsylvania in 1984, failed to count votes in a number
of precincts precincts during the May 17 Primary Election in
Berks County. A re-examination of the Danaher system was called
for by the petition of Berks County voters and filed by Sheila
Green of Beaver County.
During the re-examination,
held in Harrisburg on November 2, Danaher Vice President Matthew
Lilly blamed Berks County pollworkers for causing the problem.
He said that the pollworkers did not follow training and pushed
a red button more than one time to start the machine when the
polls opened.
[MORE]
IN-DISTRICT
LOBBY DAYS: Citizens Meet With Their Congressional Office
Staff To Seek Support HR 550 and Voter Verified Paper RecordsConcerned citizens met in local Congressional
Office on August 15-16, 2006 to help get bi-partisan support
for Rush Holt's HR 550 bill which would amend the Help America
Vote Act, provide additional funding to counties for voting systems,
require Voter-Verified Paper Records to come out of machines,
and provide for routine AUDIT which will help protect YOUR VOTE!
Get more information HERE
HB 1318
MOVES BACK TO PENNSYLVANIA SENATE
Activists Fight
Hard to Save Voting Rights at Lobby Day in Capitol
By Marybeth Kuznik,
VotePA
February 2, 2006 Dozens of activists from Pittsburgh,
Allentown, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Franklin County converged
on the Pennsylvania Capitol yesterday to urge State Representatives
to defeat HB 1318. Many groups and organizations were represented
on the buses arriving from both sides of the state. Citizen-lobbyists
visited offices of state representatives, senators, Governor
Ed Rendell, and Lt. Governor Katherine Baker Knoll to call for
the defeat or veto of this restrictive bill that, if passed,
may prevent many honest people from voting. The citizens also
observed debate on the bill in the state House of Representatives,
and held a rally with numerous representatives and senators participating.
Unfortunately, despite the
good work of all the citizens and activist groups, HB 1318 was
passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives yesterday
106-95, and returns to the Pennsylvania Senate for a new round
of consideration. [MORE]
 Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) Co-Sponsors
HR 550
By Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy,
VoteTrustUSA
February 02, 2006
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) has
signed on as a co-sponsor of The Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act (HR 550). Rep. Murphy represents parts
of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, as well as parts of Westmoreland
and Washington Counties. [MORE]
CENTRE COUNTY:
Concerns aired over paperless voting
County urged to not
rush into electronic system
By Lara Brenckle, Centre Daily Times
BELLEFONTE, January 18, 2006
-- A group of people that included elected officials, a poll
worker and a member of the League of Women Voters called on county
commissioners Tuesday to resist pressure to rush to buy electronic
voting machines.
They asked the county not to
buy an electronic voting system unless it would provide a paper
trail that would allow votes to be audited.
The problem is that Pennsylvania
rules won't allow counties to use electronic machines that leave
a paper trail. And the county has only a little time left to
choose a new voting system if it is to comply with a federal
law that aims to eliminate punch card ballots by the May 16 primary.
Commissioners Chairman Chris
Exarchos said the county is investigating the possibility of
leasing optical scan equipment, an older technology but the only
one certified by the state that permits a paper trail, as a stopgap
measure.
Former county administrator
Jon Eich, State College Borough Councilwoman Elizabeth Goreham,
poll worker Mary Vollero and League of Women Voters Co-president
Lydia Vandenbergh all urged commissioners Tuesday to fully involve
the public in the process of selecting a new system, and to not
give in to the federal and state rush to get new systems in place.
Goreham said the uncertainty
created by lack of a paper trail "is a nightmare. It really
begins to unravel our confidence in the system." [MORE]
BUTLER COUNTY
CITIZENS' WARN COMMISSIONERS OF HIGH COSTS
January 13, 2006 -- Dr. Itzi
Metzli of the Butler County D-PAC and 10-County Citizens' Coalition
for Voter Verified Paper Records addressed the Butler County
Commissioners meeting today to warn that if Butler County Selects
ES&S for its Electronic Voting System, then County Taxpayers
can Expect to pay Almost $1.4 million More than What HAVA is
giving the county.
Dr. Metzli was cut off before
his remarks were concluded, however you can read the full text
of his speech HERE.
WESTMORELAND
COUNTY CITIZENS' LAWSUIT HEADS TO COMMONWEALTH COURT
January 11, 2006 -- Judge William
J. Ober signed an order to transfer the lawsuit filed by ten
Westmoreland County voters and State Senator Jim Ferlo to Commonwealth
Court with the Pennsylvania Department of State and Secretary
of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortes added as an indispensable party.
The suit requests that Westmoreland County follow provisions
of the Pennsylvania Constitution and Election Code that provide
citizens the right to choose whether or not to move to a new
electronic voting system by holding a referendum at a regular
primary or election.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06012/636545.stm
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/newssummary/s_412527.html
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/election/s_412721.html
PUBLIC HEARING
ON SB 977 for Voter Verified Paper Records and Audits SOON!
December 13, 2005 -- At the
Pennsylvania State Government Committee meeting today Senator
Joseph Conti withdrew his motion to bring SB 977 to an immediate
committee vote. He is calling public hearings on the issue to
be held as soon as possible.
PRESS RELEASE HERE
HB 1318
Moves through the Senate and Back to House
The restrictive HB 1318, which
would make it harder for some Pennsylvanians to vote, was passed
by the PA Senate and has been returned to the House. As of December
20 it was recommitted to the House Rules Committee where it will
likely remain until after the New Year starts.
VotePA founder Marybeth
Kuznik as Susan B. Anthony pictured with (L) Kip Humphrey of
51 Capital March and (R) Bernie Ellis of Gathering to Save our
Democracy (TN) in Portland OR, at the Oregon Voter Rights Coalition's
Summit To Save Our
Elections. Marybeth delivered excepts from Miss Anthony's
1873 speech entitled "Is It A Crime To Vote?" as part
of the Saturday evening Democracy Revival organized by election
attorney Paul Lehto of Washington state. Marybeth (as herself)
also presented two workshops at the conference on becoming a
Pollworker.
Joe Conti
Introduces Senate Companion to HB 2000!
By Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy,
VoteTrustUSA
S. 977 is an Exact Clone of Rep. Frankel's VVPB/Audit Bill
November 02, 2005 -- Pennsylvania
Senator Joseph Conti (R-10th) yesterday introduced S. 977, a
bill calling for a voter verified paper record of every vote
and a mandatory random handcount of 5% of those paper records
in each county in the state.companion bill to HB 2000 yesterday.
The bill is a verbatim clone of a bill introduced in the Pennsylvania
House in late September by Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny)
The verification language of
the bills, which has over 50 co-sponsors in the House, is drawn
from Rush Holt's Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility
Act (HR 550) which was introduced in the US House earlier this
year. It has the support of state and local election integrity
organizations and VoteTrustUSA joins with other national organizations
like Verified Voting and Common Cause in supporting this legislation.
[MORE]
Update on
HB 1318 in Senate
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA
November 02, 2005
In a meeting on November 1st,
the Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee sent HB 1318
on to the full Senate for a first and second reading. Following
the readings, HB 1318 is supposed to return to the committee
for further negotiations. This arrangement was by "gentleman's
agreement" of the committee.
The bill, which as passed by
the House would establish requirements for photo Voter ID, disenfranchisement
of ex-felons, along with other election related provisions.
Since referral to the committee, a further amendment restricting
locations allowed for polling places has been added by Sen. Charles
Lemmond (R 20th), the committee chairman.
[MORE]
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JULY 8, 2005
The Election Reform movement
has lost one of our brightest and best...
Andy Stephenson passed away last night, July 7, in Seattle WA
at 9:27 PDT.
He was surrounded by the love
of his family members who were with him,
and by the love of thousands of us who were with him in spirit
and will
never forget the work he started. We love you Andy, and we will
carry
on your fight to preserve our Democracy.
VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.
Never Give Up. Andy has passed the torch to US.
Marybeth Kuznik
Take up our quarrel
with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae (1872-1918)
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ARCHIVE STORY:
PLEASE HELP SAVE MY FRIEND ANDY STEPHENSON
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