PROPOSAL NUMBER: 020-03

PROPOSAL NUMBER: 020-03

PROPOSAL SUBJECT: Green Party support for “The Voter Confidence Act,” (HR2239)

PRESENTER: Secretary GPCO

TIMELINE EFFECTIVE:
Electronic voting machines are being aggressively marketed all across the nation. I urge that this proposal be implemented at the earliest possible time to raise awareness of the problem as election races heat up, and to give jurisdictions time to acquire and deploy the necessary equipment.

The bill, introduced 22 May 2003, has been referred to the House committee on House Administration. Hearing date has yet to be scheduled.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
All across the nation, states have been scrambling to replace their old punch card and lever-action voting machines to meet compliance dates specified in the “Help America Vote Act of 2002″ (HAVA). Thousands of “direct recording electronic” (DRE) voting machines have been purchased and put in use despite well-documented concerns of voting technology and computer security experts that these machines can’t be trusted.

HR2239, “The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003,” while in no way advocating for electronic voting machines, recognizes that thousands of jurisdictions are not going to admit their mistakes (or worse) and give them up. HR2239 addresses seriously antidemocratic deficiencies with these machines, and attempts to specify remedies in time to prevent another election debacle in 2004.

REFERENCES:
The bill, HR2239, “The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003,” can be read at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.R.2239:

“Computer voting open to easy fraud, experts say” NYT, 23 July 2003 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/24/technology/24VOTE.html?ex=1061006400&en=59935b3e6b1dab7b&ei=5070

Expert opinion about ‘direct recording electronic’ voting machines, and alternatives, published at: http://www.verifiedvoting.org/

“The theft of your vote is just a chip away”, Thom Hartmann, 30 July ‘03 http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16474

Denver Post article, 30 July ‘03, “Voting systems ‘Can’t be trusted,’” http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/073103F.shtml

IMPLEMENTATION - RESOURCES:
I see no need for meetings or monetary outlay. Announcements, action-appeals and the drafting and approval of media releases can be done by email; letters to Congress by fax or email.

FULL PROPOSAL:
That A.) The Green Party of Colorado send a letter of support to US Rep. Rush Holt and cosponsors of “The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003.” The bill requires all voting machines to produce an actual paper record by 2004 that voters can view to check the accuracy of their votes, and then deposit in a lock box at the polling place, that election officials can use to verify votes in the event of computer malfunction, hacking or other irregularity.

Also, that B.) The State Media Director draft a press release to be approved and released as directed by the Council to publish GPCO support of HR2239.

And further, that C.) Local Green Party chapter activists be urged via communication by their state Council reps to contact their Congressional representatives in support of HR2239.

And finally, that D.) The GPCO representative to the GPUS-CC present this proposal in such a manner that the above statewide and local actions be carried out on a national scale — including a USGP letter of support to Rep. Rush Holt and cosponsors of HR2239; a national media press release backing the bill; and a call for state and local chapters throughout the nation to urge their members to contact their Congressional representatives in favor of HR2239.

COMMENT:
This proposal is open to amendments indicating Green activists’ unhappiness with electronic voting machines in general and the unseemly haste with which these machines simply appeared unannounced in many jurisdictions in the state, as they did in many precincts in Denver. Such an amendment might be addressed to the Colorado Secretary of State with a request that the deals made between election officials and machine vendors be investigated.