Letter to the Editor, Intelligencer, February 17, 08

Our vote is threatened

To the Editors:

I was pleased to read that the editors of The Intelligencer are as unwilling as I to dismiss the issue of replacing the touch-screen voting machines in Bucks County with a more reliable, accountable system. I was among the 100-plus citizens who attended the recent commissioners meeting, having witnessed the groundswell of concern over this threat to our vote.

I worked at the polls in Tinicum for years with the old lever system. Our careful count at the end of the day, witnessed by a member of each party, never revealed a discrepancy. With these new Danaher machines, we can no longer guarantee our neighbors that their votes will be fairly counted. There is not only the fear of manipulation, but at the end of the day, the entire system could go down and every vote could be lost with no hope of a recount. No paper trail.

I encourage the editors to continue to keep this question alive and not let the easy dismissal of Commissioners Cawley and Martin be the final word.

Margaret Balitsaris
Tinicum Township