The mission of the Oregon Voter Rights Coalition is to restore public ownership and oversight of elections, and to ensure the fundamental right of every American citizen to vote and to have each vote counted as intended in a secure, transparent, impartial, and independently verified election process.
Vote Is Cast for Ballot Audit Trail
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 06/22/2005 - 7:25am
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6007
AJC.com / June 16th, 2005
The national organization of election officials — whose suggestions on repairing the voting process after the debacle of 2000 in Florida were reflected in subsequent reforms approved by Congress — is back with more recommendations. Some of the group's many proposals deserve careful consideration.
At the top of the list is the idea that voters be provided with a way to verify that the choices they make on an electronic voting machine are accurately recorded.
"We recognize that transparency is needed" for voters who suspect their ballots might be usurped, said R. Doug Lewis, executive director of the organization, called Election Center. An independent, verifiable audit system would provide needed assurance to the small percentage of concerned voters, he said. It could consist of a paper printout, an audio or video record or other system, according to the Houston-based Election Center.
Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox has been noncommittal about providing voters with a way to check their selections other than on the voting machine they use; she insists, as does the Election Center, that nationally recognized standards for audit trails be set first.
The bipartisan group issued its latest recommendations after last fall's election was marred by miscounted votes, charges of fraud, long lines at some polling places, the contested presidential vote in Ohio and the court battle to determine, months after the vote, who won the governor's race in Washington.
Among the organization's other suggestions that warrant debate: uniformity in the use of provisional ballots; added training and more money for poll workers; longer lead times to process voter registrations; increased accountability for organizations conducting voter registration drives; and replacement of traditional precinct polling places with election centers, a money-saving idea successfully tested in Colorado.
The nation's election officials have made their nominations to improve and safeguard our election process. Now it's up to voters to speak.
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