Our elections are safer because of you

Dear MoveOn member,
The need to repair our voting system isn't on the front pages, but MoveOn members like you have been working tirelessly to safeguard our elections, and together we've made some real progress.

In Colorado, Hawaii, Connecticut, and North Carolina, MoveOn members helped pass legislation requiring all touch-screen voting machines to print a Voter-Verified Paper Ballot (VVPB). Voters can verify their vote is recorded correctly, and the paper ballots are the vote of record in a recount. Voting remains accessible for people who are visually impaired. Alternately, election boards can use optical scan ballots, which are less expensive and just as reliable.

More than half of all states now require VVPBs for touch-screen machines. This is an incredible accomplishment, and it wouldn't have happened without your efforts. Diebold, the notorious maker of touch-screen voting machines, is getting nervous—they just hired a former DNC chair to lobby Democrats to allow unverifiable paperless systems.1 But we'll counter this new pressure: If your state hasn't passed VVPB legislation yet, we'll let you know when there's a good opportunity to weigh in with your state legislator.

Meanwhile, you are keeping the pressure on Congress to pass federal legislation requiring VVPBs. In June, dozens of MoveOn members traveled long distances from key Congressional districts to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress and their staff in person. Last week, with members of Congress at home, hundreds of you attended meetings at your representative's local office. The meetings were arranged by Working Assets, Common Cause, VerifiedVoting.org, and others.

As a result of this citizen lobbying, 11 more House members have agreed to co-sponsor the best federal VVPB legislation out there—Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)'s "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" (H.R. 550). The momentum is building for nationwide rules to round out the state-by-state victories.

You can add to this momentum by calling your representative in Congress at:


Congressman Adam Smith
Phone: 202-225-8901
Tacoma District Office: 888-764-8409


Thank him for co-sponsoring H.R. 550, then ask him to urge his colleagues to do the same so the legislation can be passed this fall.

Then, please report your call by clicking here:

http://political.moveon.org/call?tg=FHWA_09&cp_id=79&id=5918-2890451-dAiuxmpYU69o5c8h8LOA9w&t=1

Thank you for all you do.

–Noah, Marika, Matt, Wes and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Monday, August 22nd, 2005

P.S. You can see if your state has passed VVPB legislation at:

http://www.verifiedvoting.org/

If it hasn't, you can call your state legislators at:

State Senator Marilyn Rasmussen
Phone: 360-786-7602

State Representative Jim McCune
Phone: 360-786-7824

State Representative Tom Campbell
Phone: 360-786-7912

P.P.S. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is keeping public focus on the need for serious election reform. You can read his column at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/opinion/19krugman.html

Source:
1. "Diebold hires top Dem for PR blitz," Oakland Tribune, August 20, 2005
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_2958901

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