AlterNet: Today Is D-Day for Electronic Voting Machines

[marmar]

Today Is D-Day for Electronic Voting Machines

By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted August 3, 2007.


California Secretary of State Debra Bowen will decide today whether to ban new electronic voting machines for next February's presidential primary. No matter what she decides, it will make waves from Capitol Hill to county election offices.


SACRAMENTO, CALIF. -- Friday, August 3, is a day that will likely live in political infamy for election integrity activists across the country.

California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a newly elected, reform-minded Democrat, will decide whether or not the largest state will use electronic voting machines in its new, early presidential primary next February. No matter what Bowen decides, she will make waves from Capitol Hill to county election offices.

If Bowen bans some or all of all of the machines, she will face an open revolt from most of the county officials who oversee California elections. She also will be sending a big message to Congress, where efforts to regulate electronic voting machines have stalled. The strongest proposals there -- requiring a paper trail to verify votes and tough new audits -- echo existing California law, which Bowen would be saying no longer is sufficient.

"Shame on you," said John Tuteur, Napa County elections director, at a hearing in Sacramento this week on the results of a Bowen-ordered study that found major security flaws in the machines. "The top-to-bottom review has no relevance to real-world conduct of elections. Secretary Bowen, you should know better than to erode the public's confidence in California's fair and accurate elections process for crass political purposes."

"You will not find a group more dedicated to doing their job to ensure voter confidence in the election process than California elected officials and their staff members, with the support of their vendors," said Beverly Ross, Tehama County clerk and recorder, expressing the sentiments of many at the Sacramento hearing. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/58720/

[DeSwiss]

1. I don't know CA politics....

...but this Tuteur guy sounds like a tool. "Shame on you" he says? Bowen didn't undermine the public's confidence, now if you start pointing the fingers at Diebold, ES&S, Bush, Cheny, and Rove you'll be getting warmer. Not to mention Tim Griffin and Fredo. And let's not talk about Florida, okay?

So he's spouting off at her because she wants to verify the security of the machines so Repukes can't steal elections as easily as they once did? Its not about "dedicated groups" bolstering our confidence with their assurances. Its about the integrity of the damned machines!

Who the hell is this guy anyway?

[bullimiami]

2. the ca house special election was so obviously screwed and no audit done

no investigation launched and the republican who was never proven to have actually won was sworn in before the flawed results were even official.

anyone who says this activity showed dedication to fair and accurate elections is a liar. The republican party has become a haven of liars, gangsters and their enablers.