A bill that would seriously address the problems with the voting machines used in this country has reached a critical point in the House of Representatives. From
the icountcoalition, an umbrella group of election reform organizations that is pushing for passage of the bill, H.R. 550:
The recent change in leadership of the Committee on House Administration has created a new opportunity for passage of this vital election integrity measure. Previous constituent meetings in June and August of 2005 were a huge success, generating 24 new co-sponsors of the bill from both parties. Please join us in Washington, D.C. on April 6 and 7 to build even greater bipartisan support for this critical bill.
Follow the flip.
HR 550 has strong measures to address the grave problems with our voting machines. Click
here for the text of the bill. Its key provisions, from lead sponsor
Rush Holt's website:
- Requiring that all voting systems produce a voter-verified paper record for use in manual audits, commencing in 2006 in accordance with HAVA's original deadline. (Funding of $150 million is authorized to help states meet the cost of implementing this requirement.)
- Banning the use of undisclosed software
- Requiring random, unannounced, hand-count audits of the voter-verified paper records (conducted by the Election Assistance Commission) in 2% of all jurisdictions, including at least 1 precinct per county. Such funds as may be necessary are authorized to fund the expense of the audits.
- Require manufacturers and election officials to document the chain of custody with respect to the handling of software; prohibit the use of software or software modifications that have not been certified or re-certified; and prohibit political and financial conflicts of interest among manufactures, test laboratories, and political parties.
HR 550 has 168 sponsors, including at least 9 Republicans (I know, but these days that is significant); this thing has a realistic chance of passing, if enough public pressure is generated.
Which is where John Kerry and his e-mail list come in. Senator Kerry shares the same concerns taken up by HR 550. He has questioned the legitimacy of placing elections in proprietary hands.
Kerry's huge e-mail list allowed him to raise $250,000 in less than 24 hours for veterans running for Congress. Let's call on Senator Kerry to use that list to secure our elections. Urge him to send e-mails asking for support of HR 550, to amplify the lobby event on Capitol Hill next week, and raise awareness of election reform. Aren't you tired of the ignorance of most Democrats you know on the subject of election vulnerability? Kerry can wake up Democrats faster than anyone.
No doubt Kerry and his advisers fear the sore-loser meme, so when you contact Kerry, urge that the he think beyond the inevitable initial reactions. Tell him to remind people that 2004 is over, but he learned from that election how ripe the system is for fraud. That the system now offers no proof, either of fraud or of accuracy. The media will have to follow up on these points, if he sticks to them. And since we all know how stark the facts are, any initial bad press will be neutralized by follow-up stories on the system.
If Kerry does this and sticks to his guns, he will gain politically, through a resurgence of base support that will come at little risk to his standing with the rest of the electorate. He will also do more than any individual can at this moment to advance the cause of trustworthy elections. So contact John Kerry and tell him to do the right thing! And please recommend this diary, because we know Kerry and his people pay attention to the Kos community. I've never asked for recommendations; I do now because this diary's making the recommended list would send a strong message to them.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Washington D.C.
304 Russell Bldg.
Third Floor
Washington D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2742 - Phone
(202) 224-8525 - Fax
Email at johnkerry.com, and e-mail at his Senate office.