Contact information:

Mary Ann Gould

votingintegrity@aol.com

(c) 215.588.5818

(h) 215.357.5206

Doylestown, February 11, 2006 - In the beginnings of a snow storm, the Coalition for Voting Integrity staged a successful rally to save the vote Saturday afternoon in front of the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown. Mary Ann Gould and three other members of CVI addressed the crowd of forty people. Citizens came from as far away as Delaware, Philadelphia and Montgomery counties to show their support for a voter-verified paper ballot (VVPB). Mary Ann Gould told the crowd that "[c]ommitment means doing what you say. We said we'd be here today and so we are. We are committed to saving our vote."

Each speaker of the afternoon made a case supporting the rally's central message: Bucks County cannot afford to purchase a voting system that does not provide a voter-verified paper ballot.

Bucks County Commissioners have set out three criteria for their choice of voting system: Ease of use, Accuracy and Cost. As the CVI speakers made clear, the precinct-based optical scan machine, certified by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, best meets each of those criteria.

VVPB legislation is pending in both the U.S. Congress and the PA General Assembly. It is only a matter of time before a voter-verified paper ballot is required in the commonwealth. It is incumbent upon the commissioners to put the voter back in the elections process now.

At the rally Mary Ann Gould also announced the formation of a CVI chapter in Lehigh County. The new chapter has thirty members and joins groups in Bucks and Chester Counties.

A Japanese film crew, in town to film Congressional candidate, Patrick Murphy, took time to interview Ms. Gould and to get footage of the rally.