[Sosfbay-discuss] RELEASE Maryland passes a paper ballot bill

[JamBoi]

Note that the way this bill is written the OVC scheme of a computer
assisted marking of a paper ballot would 

Paper Ballots:*All* truly advanced democracies use this most advanced
technology mankind has ever derived to acheive truly secret ballots!
(ie. the U.S. is not an advanced democracy)

Drew

RELEASE Maryland passes a paper ballot bill
Date:	 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:29:23 -0700 (PDT)
 
>From Linda Schade <lindaschade at earthlink.net>....

http://TrueVoteMD.org

RELEASE
April 9, 2007

Contact: Shazia Anwar, Director TrueVoteMD
(301) 537-4862 (cell) (301) 270-6150 office


Maryland Passes Paper Ballot Bill
'A Victory for Democracy'


Annapolis, Maryland.  In the closing hours of the
2007 legislative session, a four year effort to
require paper ballots for Maryland's voting
system passed the House and the Senate
unanimously.  The bill, SB 392/HB18, requires a
voter-verified paper trail to be implemented in
2010. 

"This is a victory for democracy in Maryland.
Thousands of voters who worked to make this a
reality are celebrating tonight," said Shazia
Anwar, Director of TrueVoteMD.org the election
watchdog group that spearheaded efforts for a
paper ballot. "We crossed a major hurdle tonight,
now we have to make sure the bill is fully
implemented." 

Last week it looked there was no chance a bill
would pass in 2007, but consistent citizen
pressure -- emails, phone calls and voter visits
-- let the Senate leadership know this was an
issue of utmost importance to Maryland voters.
"We're very pleased elected officials in both
Houses decided this was the year to put in place
a voter verified paper record that could used
independent audits and meaningful recounts" said
Anwar.

"TrueVoteMD.org was founded four years ago in
order to create elections that voters in Maryland
could trust," said Linda Schade, founder of
TrueVoteMD. "I'm pleased that we've made
significant progress tonight." 

The final bill ensures that any new voting system
certified for use must include a voter verified
paper record. The bill requires an optically
scannable paper ballot marked by hand or with the
help of a ballot marking device. The final bill
also ensures that disabled voters will be able to
vote independently and privately. The bill is
expected to save Maryland taxpayer money as
studies have shown that operating costs for
optical scanning equipment are 30% to 40% lower
than the cost of Maryland's current touchscreen
machines.

The final step for enactment of the bill into law
is the signature of Governor Martin O'Malley. 
O'Malley has expressed support for a voter
verified paper ballot during his gubernatorial
campaign.  A poll conducted by the State Board of
Election last year found that 69% of Maryland
voters supported a paper trail.

Maryland was one of the first states to use
electronic voting machines and is one of the last
to require a voter verified paper ballot.  

Twenty-seven states require either a voter
verified paper ballot or a paper ballot based
system and seven other states do not use
electronic voting machines.  Over 30 states use
optical scan systems 50% will vote on them in
2008.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

*22 states require voting machines to produce a
VVPAT *(AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, HI, ID, IL, ME,
MO, MT, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, UT, WA, WV, WI)
*5 states require paper-based ballot systems*
(MI, MN, NH, NM, VT) *Of the 22 states that
require voting machines to produce a VVPAT, 17
use electronic voting machines in at least one
jurisdiction *(AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, HI, IL, MO,
NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, UT, WA, WV, WI) *while 5 do
not use any electronic voting machines *(CT, ID,
ME, MT, OR).
*15 states and the District of Columbia use
electronic voting machines in at least one
jurisdiction and do not require VVPATs *(DE, DC,
FL, GA, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, PA, SC, TN, TX,
VA, WY)
*7 states do not use any electronic voting
machines and do not have any regulations
requiring VVPATs *(AL, MA*, NE, ND, OK, RI, SD)
Notes: Mississippi, does not require VVPATs but
in the 77 counties that received electronic
voting machines in 2005, the machines produce a
VVPAT.
Massachusetts is in the process of selecting an
accessible voting system.
Source: http://VoteTrustUSA. org

___________________

JamBoi
The Green Parties' #1 Blogger
See http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=JamBoi

"To the brave belong all things"
Celts invading the Italian Penninsula's reply when queried as to their intentions by nervous Romans around 400BC

Jammy The Sacred Cow Slayer

"Live humbly, laugh often and love unconditionally" (anon)
http://dailyJam.blogspot.com


       
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