Verified Voting

Please Co-Sponsor H.R. 550 for Voter Verification

UPDATE: HR550 now has 201 bi-partisan co-sponsors. At a recent hearing on voluntary voting system standards (VVSG), much of the testimony focused on voter-verified paper records, despite it not being the topic of the hearing -- a clear indication of the importance of the subject to both witnesses and committee members.

This is a key moment to contact your lawmakers now and ask them to co-sponsor - we are very close to the number of votes needed for passage. Just a few more to go!

Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey introduced the "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" (H.R. 550), an enhanced version of the bill he put forward in the last session of Congress (HR2239). This bill is the "gold standard" of voter verifiability legislation, incorporating not only a requirement for voter-verified paper ballots but also provisions requiring mandatory manual audits to confirm that voting machines are working properly, as well as increased security requirements, prohibiting undisclosed software, and more. As we did last session, VerifiedVoting.org supports this bill in the strongest possible terms, and urges its immediate passage.

Voter-verified paper ballots make it possible to recover from e-voting machine malfunctions, such as those experienced in recent elections in Iowa, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, without having to re-run a costly election from scratch.

Passage of this bill will mean that all voting jurisdictions must use a voting system which provides a voter-verified paper ballot, and every state will have audits, not just the 13 which have passed audit requirements to date.

To pass quickly, voter-verified paper ballot legislation must have strong bi-partisan support. You can make the difference: contact your Representative today and urge him or her to co-sponsor this critically important bill. Use the sample letter below or edit it as you see fit. If you prefer to send a fax, please click the "send fax" box below.

September 02, 2010

Subject:

I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor the "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" (H.R. 550), to safeguard our nation's elections. To date, 70% of the states agree that voter-verifiable paper records are needed -- 28 states have now passed a requirement, and another 8 states have purchased voter- verifiable equipment statewide, even without passing a law. But ALL states must meet this baseline requirement to ensure that the outcome of our elections is beyond question. Passage of H.R. 550 will mean that all voting systems must provide a voter-verifiable paper record so each voter can verify that their votes have been accurately recorded and so every elections official can conduct meaningful manual recounts and audits of election results. Voter-verified paper ballots also make it possible to recover from e-voting machine malfunctions, such as those experienced in recent elections in Iowa, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, without having to re-run a costly election from scratch. Without hard-copy records of voter intent, neither election officials nor voters or candidates can be sure of the accuracy of the outcome. Accessible voting technologies, including ballot marking devices, now enable voters with disabilities (including voters who are blind) to mark their ballots and to verify the paper record with privacy and independence. The "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" (H.R. 550) will also fund retrofits where needed to ensure every state, county, parish and township can have voter-verified paper records. Most importantly, it requires mandatory random manual audits of the voter-verified paper records to ensure accuracy of the vote count. In addition, the bill goes further to make our elections reliable by increasing security standards and prohibiting use of undisclosed software. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to co-sponsor H.R. 550. Thank you.
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