What You Can Do: A Message from Voters Unite!
United Voters!
As the
election draws closer, the likelihood of changes in voting systems
decreases (with a few notable exceptions). So, most of us are focusing
more and more on how to increase the chances of an accurate election,
given the equipment that is already in place.
Here are some things you can do.
—Volunteer for Poll Watching
BlackBoxVoting is organizing an “election watch crew”. http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
VerifiedVoting.org is organizing “TechWatch.” http://vevo.verifiedvoting.org/techwatch/
Informed poll watching can make a difference. Read about the work Roxanne Jekot's group of 150 volunteers did in the Georgia primary.
Then join in the efforts of a national org, or work with other
concerned citizens in your area to be a well- informed election
observer.
—Advocate Accountability Procedures
One of
the new items on our Info page links to our recommended accountability
procedures for counties using optical scan machines.
This page was developed as a cooperative effort between VotersUnite!
and Concerned Citizens for Democratic Integrity (King County –
Seattle), with some input from Bev Harris.
http://www.votersunite.org/info/OSprocedures.asp
If you
live in an optical scan county, consult with your local election
officials. See if they are following the minimum accountability
procedures. Many of them probably are.
In particular, talk with them about testing and about establishing
auditing procedures — not recount procedures, but manual counts in a
randomly-selected percentage of precincts to check whether the machines
read and counted the votes correctly.
Go here to find information about which machines your Iowa county uses and to get the name of your county auditor.
—Object to New E-Voting Purchases
We have
a request from New Mexico, and we need all of you to participate. Help
stop Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) from buying more Sequoia AVC Edge
electronic voting machines. Remember Bernalillo County? 48,000 people
voted on the touch screens in November, 2002. Only 36,000 of their
votes were counted. The 25% error went unnoticed for 10 days until an
attorney noticed it. Sequoia technicians claim they were able to
reconstruct the data and determine the actual vote counts. (See our “Mess-up Du Jour” from July 9.)
A
recent article in the Albuquerque Tribune quotes Mary Herrera,
Bernalillo County Clerk as saying: “We have never experienced any
election in which all votes have not been counted.”
New
Mexico activists tell us that Bernalillo County is poised to make a
very large purchase shortly, and the county's decision is likely to set
the standard for the state.
CALL AND OBJECT!
– Call 505 768-4085, then press 1 when the message starts.
– Ask for county clerk Mary Herrera or her assistant.
– Tell
them you are calling to request that they do not purchase any more of
these unreliable voting systems for Bernalillo County. Even if you live
outside NM, call and let them know where you are calling from. You are
a stake holder in New Mexico elections. You have a right to be heard.
– For talking points about other Sequoia AVC Edge disasters, see:
http://www.votersunite.org/info/Sequoiainthenews.pdf
—Keep Educating Yourself and Others
– Hand-deliver “Myth Breakers for Election Officials” to your local official, if you haven't already. [Actually,
Alta went on a well-organized delivery spree a couple of weeks ago and
it looks like we've got Myth Breakers and the ES&S supplement delivered to all but 12 Iowa
counties. Woo-hoo! More details to follow.]
– Keep up on the voting news: http://www.votersunite.org/news.asp
– Visit our “Mess-up Du Jour” each day for a brief description of an election problem — a different one each day. http://www.votersunite.org/info/mess-updujour.asp
– Check our Info page periodically for new activist materials and ideas. http://www.votersunite.org/info.asp
– Take
your concerns off-line by speaking to friends and neighbors about it.
Let them know that paper ballots are essential. Speak at local
meetings.
– Put anti-e-voting stickers on all the letters you send out: http://www.votersunite.org/info/label-instructions.asp
– Write letters to your local newspaper. Over and over and over. The press is beginning to catch on. Tell them the facts.
“We should not be silenced.”
~ John Gideon
—Don't Get Discouraged
The
movement is growing. More people are becoming aware. More officials are
taking a stand for paper ballots. More newspapers are publishing
editorials opposing paperless voting. (May the gods smile on the New
York Times editorial board.) Because of all us 'ants,' each doing our
little part, the November election looks much brighter than it would
have if we had all been sleeping for the past year.
Keep up the good work! You never know what good thing might happen tomorrow.
~ the VotersUnite! team
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