Maryland!):
We have just learned from friendly General Assembly members that an
effort is underway to call for an independent cost study that would
compare the costs of buying a new paper-based voting system with keeping
the current paperless Diebold touchscreens on life support for next
fall's elections. BUT we need to mobilize as many people as possible
very quickly to make calls to a few key House Delegates on the House
Appropriations Committee to press for action. The committee is to vote
very soon on the budget and so this needs to be done quickly--and phone
calls are best at this late point in the process.
Thanks very much!
Shelley
Brief background: the touchscreen machines are more expensive than paper
ballot voting, read by optical scanning machines. Optical scanning
readers are used for everything from many state lottery systems to the
SATs. They're basic, reliable and provide a clear and permanent ballot
which can be audited, recounted, etc. Touchscreen aka DRE machines are
subject to human error, tampering, power outages and other circumstances
which can lead to long lines, lost votes, and frustration. They're
expensive, complex, and cannot be recounted or accurately audited in
case of error or suspected hacking. The Maryland General Assembly, aware
of these concerns, voted unanimously to switch over to paper ballot
voting, read by optical scanning machines in time for the elections and
primaries this year. But something has gone terrible wrong. Read on for
the details of what happened and how we can get back on track for
Secure, Accessible, Verifiable Elections in Maryland.
See the notice below for the phone numbers and talking points you can
use when making your calls. Note, the numbers are the same, the
exchanges are different for each delegate. -- Mike Hersh
From Rebecca Wilson also of SAVEourVotes.org:
URGENT: Calls needed ASAP for verifiable elections in MD
It is critical for as many people as possible make calls today or
tomorrow to ask the MD House Appropriations Committee to call for an
independent cost study of our voting system equipment in this year's
Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) – to determine the true
costs of purchasing a new reliable, verifiable voting equipment for
future elections.
As you probably know, Maryland was supposed to get a new voting system
before this fall's elections that would provide a voter-verifiable paper
ballot that could be used for recounts or audits to ensure that votes
are counted accurately and that election results are correct.
But even though current MD law requires that a new voting system be in
place in time for the 2010 elections -- and despite the fact that the MD
State Board of Elections (SBE) has had 3 years to make this happen --
the SBE has used about every excuse in the book to derail this change.
Every year they try a different ploy, and this year's excuse is the
budget. While we all know that both the state's and counties' budgets
are strained to the breaking point this year, we also know that the new
optical scan voting system will be far cheaper to operate than our
current, labor-intensive touch-screen voting system.
The SBE presented cost estimates to Governor O'Malley that inflated the
cost of an op-scan system while vastly understating the costs of
operating the existing voting equipment. In this tight budget year, the
governor could not find the money to meet the SBE's projected costs for
the new system. (For more details, see the Gazette article at
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03122010/policol175947_32553.php.)
Now that it's too late to buy the new voting system for next fall, the
SBE is requesting the true amount they need to conduct the 2010
elections with the existing equipment -- and it's about double what they
told the governor it would cost! In fact, it's about the same amount it
would cost for a truly conscientious elections administrator to buy and
implement a new reliable and recountable optical scan voting system.
Are you fed up with the SBE's fuzzy math? Isn't it time to get some true
estimates of the real costs of moving forward with a new voting system?
Please call these MD House Delegates immediately:
• Del. Clagett (Chair, Public Safety & Administration subcommittee,
which oversees the SBE's budget) 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3436
• Del. DeBoy (Vice-chair, Public Safety & Administration subcommittee)
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3328
• Del. Conway (Chair, House Appropriations Committee) 1-800-492-7122,
ext. 3407
Ask them to require the state government (through the MD Department of
Legislative Services) to conduct an independent review of voting system
costs his year. The study should compare the costs of continuing to
operate the current untrustworthy paperless Diebold voting machines to
the cost of buying and implementing a new reliable, verifiable
paper-based one.
The reason for the independent review is that the SBE's cost projections
have greatly exaggerated the costs of purchasing a new voting system,
and kept the true cost for keeping the aging Diebold touchscreens on
life support hidden. (They claimed that the operating costs would be
about $4 million for the current system, but instead they are asking for
$8.4 million for FY2010 & FY2011 -- in addition to the $2 million they
have already grabbed that was allocated last year to buy the new voting
system. In December, they claimed that it would cost $360 each to buy
new voting booths, when in fact we could buy new voting privacy screens
for as little as $7 each.)
Please call immediately as soon as you read this -- budget decisions are
being made right now! Please spread the word to everyone you know --
every phone call is important! We need to take this action to ensure
that the SBE doesn't pull the wool over the eyes of our elections
officials next time around, so we can get a new verifiable voting system
in place for the 2012 elections. For more information about the true
costs of operating MD's voting system, including a cost analysis by
SAVEourVotes, go to http://www.saveourvotes.org
Thank you for everything you do to protect Maryland's elections!
Rebecca Wilson
SAVEourVotes.org
SAVE our Votes is a nonpartisan grassroots organization working for
Secure, Accessible, Verifiable Elections in Maryland.
No comments:
Post a Comment