BILLS, BILLS, BILLS!!

Activists are working. Legislators are working. Some of the bills out there are good. Some aren’t. Here’s a list of some we would like you to act on.

********** ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL **********

———Voter-Verified Paper Ballots, Mandatory Audit, Disclosed Source Code

H.R. 550, the "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005" was introduced by Rep. Holt (NJ). In only two weeks, it has over 100 cosponsors. H.R. 550 requires voter-verified paper ballots (VVPB) and mandatory manual audits. It requires increased security and prohibits undisclosed software. It was carefully written after extensive consultation with many experts.

You can see the text of the bill and the co-sponsors here

If your U.S. Representative is not on the list of co-sponsors, call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number (888-508-2974), ask for your Representative’s office, and urge co-sponsorship for H.R.550.

———Voter-Verified Paper Ballots

S.330 in the Senate and H.R.704 in the House are exactly the same. Both require the VVPT that Senator Ensign attempted to get included in HAVA.

You can see the text of the bill and the co-sponsors here

Contact your U.S. Legislators and urge them to support the bill in their house.

**********MODEL BILL IN GEORGIA**********

A model bill written by Georgia activists has gained the support of right and left, senators and representatives alike. It requires a voter-verified paper ballot, 100% hand counts of the papers in the precinct, disclosed software source code, and deputizing anyone who touches a ballot or a machine during an election.

See the press release here

See the legislation text here.

Contact your Georgia legislator in support of the bill: http://www.voterchoice.org/legislation/vcpa_citizen_info.htm

**********AMEND WASHINGTON’S VVPB BILL**********

SB 5395, requiring a voter-verified paper ballot for “poll-site based electronic voting devices," has been passed out of the Government Operations and Elections Committee and will be presented to the Senate floor for a vote. You can find the text of the bill here. If you are in Washington State, contact your state Senator and point out that there are three major problems with this bill:

1) It should unambiguously require a vvpb for ALL voting systems.

2) The paper ballot, not the electronic ballots, should be the official record for recounts and audits.

3) The audit requirement is extremely weak and should be strengthened to include all voting systems, not just poll-site based voting devices. It should also include provisions for what to do if a discrepancy is found during an audit.

**********SUPPORT ARKANSAS, NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA**********

———ARKANSAS

HB1360, introduced by Rep. Ray Kidd, D - Jonesboro, would require that the machines provide a "voter verified paper audit trail" that will serve as the official record if a recount is needed.

If you are in Arkansas, contact your representatives and tell them to vote YES to the Kidd/Sumpter paper trail bill HB 1360.

If you know someone in Arkansas, pass this message on to them.

——— NORTH CAROLINA House Bill 238 has been introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly by Rep. Verla Insko. It requires that any voting technology used in North Carolina produce paper ballots. The ballots must be visible to the voters ("voter-verified") and be used for recounts and randomized audits of electronic vote counts. See text of the bill here.

Please email, phone and/or fax your State Representatives and ask them support HB 238. Also ask your state senator to contact Senator Ellie Kinnaird to co-sponsor the companion bill that she will introduce in the Senate. In your messages, please ask for a reply and let the North Carolina Coalition for Verified Voting know how they respond. ncverifiablevoting@yahoo.com

To contact your representative, go here.

——— VIRGINIA

A new bill introduced recently in the Virginia Senate by Sen. Whipple, SJ 371, requires the addition of new citizen members--with computer science expertise--to the Virginia Study Commission on voting systems. The Commission deals with certification of voting equipment, but to date has not included any members with technical background. With today's technology, the participation and input of these experts is crucial if VA voters are to have secure, verifiable elections.

The bill passed in the state senate. Virginians, only days are left before the legislative session ends. So NOW is the time to call your delegates to the State Assembly and members of the VA House Rules Committee. Insist that the study commission include the necessary experts to make rational and sound decisions about voting systems.

********** PLACEBO BILL IN ARIZONA **********

VotersUnite has received a request from VOTE (Voters for Open and Transparent Elections)

A bill introduced in AZ is inadequate. While it seems to require a paper record of each ballot, it does not require a Voter Verified Paper Ballot. According to VOTE, this and other issues make this bill unacceptable.

———Here is the alert we received from VOTE:

Please read the information below and please forward this call to action to other members of your organizations. Let's kill this bill and get a better one for AZ!!!

Carmen Beck
Chairperson
Voters for Open and Transparent Elections

HELP!!

The Arizona Senate bill 1342 has been set for a hearing this coming Monday 2/21 at 2:30 pm by AZ Senate Judiciary Committee. As some of you might be aware through earlier announcements by Jeff Chimene and Tedd Downing this flawed bill was introduced by the Republican Senator Marylin Jarrett of Mesa and deals with voting equipment and election procedures. Bill can be viewed here.

Its time for ACTION: Please contact the AZ Senate Judiciary members and urge them to OPPOSE this bill. Please forward to anyone interested and urge them to do the same:

1) if at all possible by fax due to the short time frame.
2) if a fax is not at your disposal then please call the AZ Senate (1-800-352-8404) on your break and ask to speak to the member or their office.
3) you can also send an email but it may not get their immediate attention (save a copy of the emailed text for future)

Writing or talking points are:

	Grossly inadequate requirement for a proper paper record from a electronic voting machine. The voter should be able verify his or her selections using the paper record and to correct any errors.
	The bill has no requirements to retain and to protect the paper record at the polling place in a manner that would assure its viability during an election verification and audit.
	Unacceptable provision to allow emergency certification of uncertified voting machines by the Secratary of State. No voting should be allowed on uncertified equipment!

PS-Contacting Jarrett, the bill sponsor, is not a priority at this point.

AZ Senate Judiciary Committee

Name	Party	LD	Position	Phone	Fax
John Huppenthal	Rep	20	Chair	(602) 926-5261	(602) 417-3157
Dean Martin	Rep	6	Vice Chair	(602) 926-5284	(602) 417-3163
Marilyn Jarrett	Rep	19	Member	(602) 928-5288	(602) 417-3161
Ron Gould	Rep	3	Member	(602) 926-4138	(602) 417-3165
Jack W. Harper	Rep	4	Member	(602) 926-4178	(602) 417-3154
Richard Miranda	Dem	13	Member	(602) 926-5911	(602) 417-3171
Linda Aguirre	Dem	16	Member	(602) 926-3830	(602) 417-3145
William 'Bill' Brotherton	Dem	14	Member	(602) 926-4485	(602) 542-3429

Thank you.
-Omid Mahdavi
DFA Tucson, Election Reform Co-Chair with Rick Graap.

——————————————————end forwarded alert

Thanks!!
~ the VotersUnite team

———————————————

To donate, go here.

To remove your name from the list of people who receive emails, simply let us know you want to be removed.