--- Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 18:47:26 -0800 Subject: We need your help!!! From: Barbara Simons <simonsat_private> To: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private> CC: "David L. Dill" <dillat_private>, "Peter G. Neumann" <neumannat_private>, "L. Peter Deutsch" <ghostat_private>, Rebecca Mercuri <mercuriat_private>, <kimalexat_private>, Deirdre Mulligan <dmulliganat_private> Dear Declan, Stanford prof Dave Dill has been doing a yeoman's job in trying to prevent Santa Clara County, which is the heart of Silicon Valley, from purchasing computerized voting machines that have NO voter verifiable ballots. These touch screen machines store the votes in memory and then, if asked, print out the ballots in random order when the voting is complete. I don't have to tell you about the possibilities of malfeasance, election theft, or even just incorrect software that can result in incorrect election results. The machines are being purchased all over the country. The state of Georgia just installed them, and already there are questions about the most recent election there. If we can't stop this madness in Silicon Valley, I don't know where we can stop it. We need for the Santa Clara Supervisors to hear from hundreds of concerned residents. This issue is also relevant to readers of your columns who don't live in Santa Clara County. As I said, this is happening all over the country, frequently with little to no press coverage. So, by the time that we learn that machines are being purchased, we frequently are confronted with a done deal. Fortunately, that's not the case in Santa Clara County, though we are uncomfortably close to having a contract signed. Our hope is that we can initiate a national movement, both by raising the alarm and by sharing our experiences with folks living elsewhere who share our concerns. Please help us by posting Dave's call to action. I've included a copy below. Many thanks. Barbara P.S. The other people whose names are included on this email have all been involved with this effort. As you know, Rebecca Mercuri has been warning about these machines for years. David's comment, which which I agree, is that we never dreamed that we'd be confronted with them here. How wrong we were. ========================PLEASE CIRCULATE========================== If you are a resident of Santa Clara County (or know some) this is a plea for help. There are similar decision being made all over the country. You may want to start a similar effort in your area. If so, please let me know what's happening, and I'll try to help. See http://verify.stanford.edu/evote.html for more information. ------------------ HELP AVERT A VOTING SYSTEM DISASTER IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY Now is the time for residents of Santa Clara County get a TRUSTWORTHY computerized voting system. The county is poised to spend $20 million in public funds on computerized voting systems that produce no paper ballots! The only record of your vote will be in the computer memory, and you won't be able to see whether it was recorded properly. This will be a huge mistake, which will put the county's election process jeopardy of error and fraud. Silicon Valley technologists are urging Santa Clara voters to contact the county supervisors to insist that they get machines that can produce a written record that the voter can check before casting. These paper ballots must be anonymous, and must be kept by the election officials (not the voters), in case a recount is needed. It is practically impossible to ensure the security of voting machine software, especially since voting machines have to LOSE information intentionally (specifically, the identity of the voter). Moreover, the current standards and processes for certifying and testing these machines are completely inadequate compared with other critical software systems. If you don't speak out, the county is going to buy these machines! The county staff have studied the issue for months and recommended a particular vendor. At least one supervisor has said he wants to go ahead immediately! The County is under a court deadline to replace the current punchcard system. If enough of us speak out, Santa Clara County can solve this problem by getting touch screen machines that also print ballots, or optical scan ballots. Santa Clara County can be a model for the rest of the country, as Silicon Valley SHOULD be in matters of technology. WHAT CAN YOU DO: The county government needs to know that this issue CANNOT BE IGNORED. A one or two-sentence email emphasizing importance of the issue to the following people could make the difference. It may help to include your home address so they know you are a county resident. Assistant County executive: Pete.Kutrasat_private-clara.ca.us (He is the staff member recommending the voting machine purchase.) Supervisor Liz Kniss: liz.knissat_private-clara.ca.us Supervisor James T. Beall, Jr.: jim.beallat_private-clara.ca.us Supervisor Donald F. Gage: don.gageat_private-clara.ca.us Supervisor Blanca Alvarado: blanca.alvaradoat_private-clara.ca.us Supervisor Pete McHugh: primo.mchughat_private (If you want to send email only to the supervisor representing your district, please check http://www.sccgov.org/rov/polling_form/0,5455,,00.html?action=district ) Cc us (if you're willing) so we can see what you sent: elections-gat_private Help get the word out: please forward this to people in Santa Clara County who might be interested and haven't seen it yet (but please don't spam!). Finally, it will help if the local papers learn your views. The San Jose Mercury News and the Palo Alto Daily are particularly important. For more information about the need for reliable computerized voting systems, read the "Resolution on Electronic Voting", online at http://verify.stanford.edu/evote.html. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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