Begin to plan right now for Election Day.
Plan now to vote whether it’s inconvenient or not. Plan to vote whether it rains or snows or blows or not.
Plan to vote whether you have to stand in line or not. Plan to vote whether you trust the new voting system or not.
We need a heavier turn-out of voters now than ever before. Here’s why.
This November Bucks County
will be voting on electronic voting machines for the first time. It’s true that no independent recount is available
with these because they’re run by software systems, without physical ballots.
Pushing the button for a recount will only cause the machine to reprint exactly what it printed before, since there
is nothing inside it to be recounted.
A real recount is available only when every
voter-verified ballot is separate from the machine, as it is when a voter marks a paper ballot by hand, and puts it into a
secure container to be kept for further reference. Both audits and recounts can
be assured in this way. An optical scanner may be used for a quick initial count
at the end of election day, with checks and balances in place in case of a questionable outcome. A strip of paper that comes
from the machine at the end of the day may or may not record what the machine’s screen stated that it had recorded while
you were there.
To
overcome the voting machines’ inability to conduct an independently checked and balanced recount, each race needs
to be won by a wide margin. If more of us vote, it may be less likely that there will be races so close that we can’t really
tell who won. In addition, voting in large numbers can help us better to identify any problems that might result, which we
certainly need to do before the bigger election in 2008.
At first, when we realize just how bad a mistake
that buying these machines was, the automatic reaction is to think, “Well, why even bother to vote if we can’t
tell that our votes count?” Further thought reminds us that if we vote, we have some chance of choosing the best people
to represent us. If we don’t vote, that chance will be “out the window.”
If you think you don’t care who wins,
think again. These are the people who decide on everything from whether the streets we drive on every day are paved to how
(and how much) we’re taxed.
There are many more well-documented problems
about both the accuracy and the security of the new voting process, but there are also solutions. Let’s do something about them.
Get involved!
Help correct the problems.
First and foremost, vote! We hope for a voting system that runs both smoothly and accurately.
If something goes wrong at your polling place this November, however, be prepared to note exactly what happens. Voting machine manufacturers are notorious for blaming every problem on human error
and/or lack of proper training of poll workers. They would like you to believe that their machines don’t break
down. Our commissioners have assured us that our poll workers will be well trained.
Second, support passage of PA Senate Bill 1299
and House Bill 2910, which would allow voters to use paper ballots this November, and PA House Bill 2000 and Senate Bill 977,
requiring voter-verified paper ballots and random audits in every future election, by calling your state senator and representative
and telling them that this is what you want. You can also send them an email
through www.coalitionforvotingintegrity.org.
Third, donate a day to democracy. Plan ahead to take November 7, or even a few hours, off from work.
Help at your polling place in any way you can.
Offer your services through your political party or through the Board of Elections or help the Coalition for Voting
Integrity gather information on our new voting process. If you haven’t registered to vote, you can do it through October
10. Registration forms are available (and free) at post offices, township and
borough buildings, libraries, state wine and spirit stores, and can even be downloaded at www.buckscounty.org from the voter registration section. Be part of the solution. Vote!
Connie Fewlass
Lower Southampton
