Please cut and paste this post and get it out to EVERYONE in your e-mail circle ASAP.



Call or write your legislators, your local newspaper, and Secretary Culver.  See contact info. below.
 
Dear Secretary Culver,

I am very concerned that Iowa may not make paper verification of
electronic voting machines available to voters and I'm even more
concerned about how this will adversely impact our democracy, our
already poor voter turnout and diminishing faith in our electoral
system.  I turn to you for your help and advice.  

During the HAVA  meeting in Cedar Rapids, March 28th it was
announced that the Iowa Senate had unanimously voted for voter verified
paper trails to the electronic voting machines being installed in
Iowa.  At the time I and, I'm sure, many in the audience, felt
this was a done deal: that Iowans would be able to verify that their
voting machine had correctly captured their intended vote.  I've
since learned that the companion bill did not make it through the House
to the General Assembly and that this issue of great concern to so many
Iowans will die soon without approval.  Without a vote in the
House for voter verification on paper, Iowa will install paperless
machines at which point change to paper verification will not be
possible.   

Going with a system that does not verify each and every person's vote
is a very critical mistake.  I understand that those opposed to
paper raise issues of cost, waste of paper, and the difficulties of
training all the precincts in their use and maintenance.  While
these are not trivial issues, they are not sufficient reasons to risk
loosing even more faith in our electoral process.

I've learned some legislators believe there is only one option for a
voting machine with a paper printer option and it is too
expensive.  But, from comments made at your meeting I understood
that several companies including one called Micro Vote, ES &S, as
well as Diebold and Sequoia were being considered for use in Iowa.

Click here to Contact Sec. of State Chet Culver
or call 515-281-0145

Then contact the media: 

Click on the links below to send a letter, or copy and paste the address into your e-mail.

The Des Moines Register  letters@news.dmreg.com or call 800-532-1455

Ames Tribune:  letters@amestrib.com or call (800) 234-TRIB

Iowa State Daily  letters@iowastatedaily.com  or call (515) 294-3557

Cedar Rapids Gazette editorial@gazettecommunications.com  or call 319-398-5869

Quad Cities Times   opinions@qctimes.com  or call (800) 437-4641

Sioux City Journal  larry.myhre@lee.net  or call  800-397-9820

Iowa City Press-Citizen newsroom@press-citizen.com or call 319-337-3181

The Daily Iowan  daily-iowan@uiowa.edu  or call 319-335-6063

Mason City Globe Gazette  www.globegazette.com  or call toll free: 800-421-0524

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier  tish.flattery@wcfcourier.com or call 800-798-1741

Please write or call and pass this on.  We need EVERYONE’s help on this action.