HELP! IF YOU CARE ABOUT MARYLAND ELECTIONS, ACT ON VERIFIABLE VOTING! LOBBY NIGHT MONDAY, 16.MARCH -- 5:30 P.M., IN ANNAPOLIS!

Written by: Jay Kei. on Mar 16, 2009 9:50 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DEMOCRACY for Baltimore

Dear Voter in Maryland,
 
Remember how hard we fought to get rid of Maryland’s gravely flawed, insecure Diebold touch-screen voting machines? Remember hoping we would feel more confident about election accuracy in Maryland? Remember how, in 2007, every single legislator in both chambers voted to scrap the inconsistent paperless voting machines for a highly-accurate, optical scan system with accessibility and auditing capability for elections conducted in Maryland?
 
We need your help. The progress we have made towards securible, accessible, verifiable elections is in serious trouble in the waning month of Maryland's Legislative Session. An effort is underway to delay implementation of a paper-based, optical-scan, accessible ballot-marking system. Several allied Maryland groups are working around the clock to prevent backtracking on this transition and to prevent unreliable outcomes in our elections.
 
Activists from several groups around the State are organizing a lobby night this upcoming Monday. We will meet in the Miller Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis, at 5:30 p.m., in the rotunda. (Turn right and walk up the ramp after passing through security.) Participants will be organized into teams, provided talking points and other materials, and sent on to meet with key legislators in both chambers of the General Assembly.
 
In preparation for lobby night, visit mdelect.net and find out the names of your Delegate(s) and Senator from your part of the State, if you do not already know them. Please send their names to Stan Boyd, sbb223@yahoo.com, and let him know you are coming so he can organize and plan for the evening. Let him know if you need or can give a ride and the place and time you would be able to leave for the Capitol.
 
In the meantime, send a mail to your legislator and other key legislators (listed at the end of this mail) to whom we are focusing. A sample letter below urges Maryland's public servants to continue with the implementation of an optical scan/accessible ballot marking system by 2010, and supporting a bill requiring random audits of machine tallies.
 
Our message clarifies the transition to paper ballots will immediately save Maryland millions of dollars, because:
the high cost of upkeep, storage, and maintenance of the Diebold touch-screen machines,
the optical scan system can allow the disabled to vote independently and privately, and,
the optical scan system is more reliable and transparent than the Diebold system.
The detailed research <http://www.saveourvotes..org/reports/08-costs-mdvotingsystem.pdf> of all costs involved shows the least expensive option for Maryland would be to move on the planned acquisition of the optical scan/accessible ballot marking voting system. The paper-based, optical scan system is already in use across 55% of the country’s counties and provides the most reliable, accurate, and cost-effective method for casting and counting ballots. Maryland needs to save every single precious dollar at once! We do not have any more money to waste on the untrustworthy Diebold election apparatus.
 
There is no intelligent excuse to delay implementation in Maryland. We urgently need your help to save our transition to trustworthy elections by 2010.
 
We look forward to seeing you on Monday night!
 
Sincerely,
Stan Boyd (301) 593-3488 or (301) 437-3936
Jay Kei. (443) 514-5959
 
 
Sample Letter to Legislators:
 
I am writing to implore you to do everything in your power to ensure Maryland continues on the path toward verifiable elections by 2010 despite several legislative proposals to delay implementation of a proposed optical scan solution.
 
Your vote in 2007 to adopt a voting system based on optically scanned paper ballots was a smart choice for several reasons, but it is even more important in these lean economic times. In the current budget environment, Maryland cannot afford to continue operating its expensive and error prone touch-screen voting system. The timetable for a new voting system by 2010 must not be postponed.
 
An optical scan system requires 80% less equipment than our current touch-screen system. Each polling place needs only one such machine to count and store the paper ballots, and one ballot-marking station for voters with disabilities to mark their paper ballots. (In contrast, the Diebold election machines require a minimum of six touch screen machines per precinct.) This reduces all costs of operating a voting system, including equipment maintenance, repairs, programming, testing, transportation, and storage. In fact, the optical scan system you voted in 2007 to adopt is so cost-effective Maryland can expect immediate reductions in our annual elections budgets even while we are still purchasing such optical scan equipment, and even further savings in the future after the new machines are paid in full. To learn more about the costs of Maryland’s voting system, click here:
 
http://www.saveourvotes.org/legislation/2008/08-costs-mdvotingsystem.pdf
 
Maryland has outgrown its current system and had to rent additional voting machines to accommodate voter registration increases in last November’s election as mandated by law. Despite the additional equipment, wait times of more than two hours were documented throughout the state on election day. Despite record interest in this historic election and hundreds of thousands of new voter registrations, voter turnout was slightly lower than expected, perhaps because some voters may have been unable to find time to wait in these long lines. An optical scan solution would enable voters to mark their ballots anywhere there is a private space, without needing any expensive equipment, which would greatly expand voter capacity during peak voting hours.
 
The well-documented security vulnerabilities of our touch-screen voting system have necessitated many time-consuming procedures that attempt to protect the integrity of our elections. The Attorney General of Maryland has filed a claim against Premier (formerly Diebold), the manufacturer, to recover $8.5 million in costs the State incurred to establish and implement these security procedures. These procedures are essential -- even though they do little to safeguard the machines against the most serious types of attacks that could alter election outcomes -- but are so cumbersome that they are often ignored by election workers. When properly followed, these security procedures are so time-consuming that election judges often work 18 to 20 hour days opening, closing, and staffing the polls. This has driven many retired people, the former mainstay of polling-place staff, out, because they lack the stamina and skills to administer these high-technology elections. An optical scan system, by contrast, is quickly set up, closed down, and requires very little technology experience, allowing election workers to concentrate on what they do best: serving voters.
 
Disability rights advocates are justifiably proud of the strong provisions in Maryland’s optical scan law protecting the right of the disabled to vote independently and privately while having the assurance their votes are verifiable, recountable, and integrated with other votes. Systems meeting these stringent requirements have already been certified in Iowa, New York, and others.
 
Optical scanning machines have much longer life than touch-screen systems, which make them a sound investment. Their proven reliability, economy, and accuracy have made them the most widely used type of voting equipment in the United States of America today. The 2008 Minnesota recount revealed an accuracy rate of 99.9% with an optical-scan system. States across the nation have rejected unverifiable touch-screen voting systems and have already acted to protect their elections. Maryland voters should not have to wait any longer.
 
Please act now to support whatever bill will allow us to purchase the new optical scanners by the 2010 elections and move Maryland to a system voters can trust along with whatever modifications which may be needed to address disabled voter needs. Finally, please support Maryland House of Delegates Bill 665 and Maryland State Senate Bill 595 requiring paper ballots be counted by hand in random precincts, comparing these tallies to results from the optical scanning machines. (While optical scan is very reliable, it is not perfect (like all machinery) due to programming mistakes, equipment malfunctions, and/or misinterpretation of voter intent. A random audit ensures accurate vote counts.
 
Thanks for all you do to protect the integrity of our elections here in the Free State.
 
 
Key Other Legislators:
 

SenatorDistrictInternet Mail AddressTelephone/Extension
Joan Carter Conway

- Hide quoted text -
43joan.carter.conway@senate.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3145
Roy Dyson29roy.dyson@senate.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3673
Mike Lenett19mike.lenett@senate.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3151
Jim Rosapepe21jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3141
Paul Pinsky22paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3155
Richard Colburn37richard.colburn@senate.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3590
David Harrington47david.harrington@senate.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3745
 
 DelegateDistrictInternet Mail Address
Telephone/Extension

LeRoy Myers1 Cleroy.myers@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3321
Andrew Serafini2 Aandrew.serafini@house.state.md.us(877) 223-9031
Christopher Shank2 Bchristopher.shank@house..state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3636
Joe Bartlett4 Ajoseph.bartlett@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3080
Don Elliott4donald.elliott@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3118
Nancy Stocksdale5 Anancy.stocksdale@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3077
John "Johnnie O." Olszewski6john.olszewski@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3458
Joseph Boteler8joseph.boteler@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3365
Jon Cardin11jon.cardin@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3833
Frank Turner13frank.turner@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3246
Anne Kaiser14anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3036
Craig Rice15craig.rice@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3090
Bill Frick16bill.frick@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3454
Kumar Barve17kumar.barve@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3464
Jim Gilchrist17jim.gilchrist@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3744
Sheila Hixson20sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3469
Justin Ross22justin.ross@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3652
Carolyn Howard24carolyn.howard@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3919
Jay Walker26jay.walker@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3581
Peter Murphy28peter.murphy@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3247
Anthony O'Donnell29 Canthony.odonnell@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3314
Ron George30ron.george@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3439
Steve Schuh31steve.schuh@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3206
Tony McConkey33 Atony.mcconkey@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3406
Susan McComas35 Bsusan.mccomas@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3272
Michael Smigiel36michael.smigiel@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3555
Richard Sossi36richard.sossi@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3543
Addie Eckardt37 Badelaide.eckardt@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3343
Jeannie Haddaway37 Bjeannie.haddaway@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3429
Page Elmore38 Apage.elmore@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3433
William Frank42william.frank@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3793
Melvin Stukes44melvin.stukes@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3544
Jolene Ivey47jolene.ivey@house.state.md.us(800) 492-7122, Ext. 3578

Tags:
Location: MD