Verified Voting Foundation Newsletter July 27 2005

Verified Voting Foundation Newsletter
Volume 4, Number 3, on July 27, 2005

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CONTENTS:
* Verified Voting Foundation Founder to Testify at EAC Hearing* Florida Court Rejects National Federation of the Blind Claim
* UT and NC Counties To Implement New Voting Systems
* North Carolina Voters Speak Out for Verifiable Voting
* Fall Internship Program
* Join Verified Voting Foundation
* Donate to Verifed Voting Foundation
* Subscribe and Unsubscribe
* About Us

VERIFIED VOTING FOUNDATION FOUNDER TO TESTIFY AT EAC HEARING
On July 28, 2005, David Dill, the founder of the Verified Voting Foundation, will testify at the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) public hearing in Pasadena, CA. The hearing is being held to solicit public and expert commentary on the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG).

For a draft of the guidelines, and to provide your own comments, seehttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/blog

For more information on the EAC hearing, seehttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6205

FLORIDA COURT REJECTS NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND CLAIM
In a victory for Florida's Volusia County, who has been involved in an on-going legal battle centered around their up-coming purchase of e-voting machines, a federal court in Florida denied the motion of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) that would have required Volusia County to purchase unreliable e-voting machines.

The NFB appealed to the United States Court of Appeals seeking an immediate injunction that would force Volusia County to provide e-voting machines that comply with the Help America Vote Act and meet both state and federal certification standards by October 1, 2005. The appeals court refused to provide an immediate injunction and scheduled the appeal for a later hearing.

Volusia County has been holding out for purchases of the AutoMARK ballot-marking device from ES&S, which is federally certified but not yet certified in Florida. This would make it possible for Volusia County voters to vote on an accessible AND verifiable voting system.

Earlier this month, the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS) issued a statement saying it does not disagree with all of the criticism of the AutoMARK machine, but is concerned that a campaign has been waged against the AutoMARK machine in particular, even though most of the other machines on the market are significantly less accessible to voters with dexterity disabilities.

Recently, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) passed a resolution stating that the organization: a) authorizes ACB Officers, Directors, and staff to take all necessary actions to ensure the accessibility of voting equipment and procedures including a VVPAT, and b) does not support any legislation that would delay the deadline set forth in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The Verified Voting Foundation assisted the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in preparing an amicus "friend of the court" brief on behalf of the Handicapped Adults of Volusia County (HAVOC).

Many thanks to attorney Matt Zimmerman of EFF, Susan Pynchon of Florida Fair Elections Project, David Dixon of HAVOC and Florida attorney Jeff Liggio for their xtraordinary efforts in presenting an excellent amicus brief in a very short amount of time.

For more information on the litigation, seehttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/litigation#florida

NAPAS statement:http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/napas

ACB resolution:http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/acb

UT AND NC COUNTIES TO PURCHASE NEW VOTING MACHINES
Utah's Salt Lake County and North Carolina's Carteret County are both in the process of examining new voting options.

Salt Lake County is having second thoughts about the purchase of Diebold touchscreen voting machines. In order to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), Utah might have to spend as much as $10 million in personnel, storage space, and additional machines for the new system.

This has left Salt Lake County Council members looking at other options that may be more cost-effective or more secure than the Diebold machines. The office of Utah's Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert said that the voting system the county approved in their HAVA plan includes a voter-verified paper record (VVPR).

Also, North Carolina's Carteret County has decided to get rid of their Patriot e-voting system made by UniLect Corp. The system was unreliable and lost 4,438 votes in the fall 2004 election. Currently, election and county officials are trying to agree on funding while examining alternative voting methods.

The county must come to an agreement by October of 2005 when it will hold its municipal elections.

We encourage both counties to purchase voting machines that secure a VVPR.
For more information, seehttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6120
and
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6112

NORTH CAROLINA VOTERS SPEAK OUT FOR VERIFIABLE VOTING
Voters in North Carolina's Carteret County have made a video speaking out for fair and verifiable voting. Please watch this video in which voters discuss their experiences with e-voting and their struggle to secure a voting system that provides a VVPR.

For more information and the video, seehttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6203

FALL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Are you a student living in or traveling to the San Francisco Bay Area with an interest in helping make democracy work? If so, we'd like to hear from you!

Currently, Verified Voting is ramping up a fall internship program for students with an interest in voting, elections, computer science, policy, or activism. Apply your efforts to
important election reform projects at a critical time when your country is facing election reform decisions. Help us ensure that every vote counts in the next election and gain new skills at the same time.

For more information and to apply, seehttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/interns

JOIN VERIFIED VOTING FOUNDATION
Become a supporter or volunteer with Verified Voting Foundation athttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/join

DONATE TO THE VERIFIED VOTING FOUNDATION
The upcoming months are a critical time for our efforts to educate the public and take action on critical projects. Your contributions to our efforts championing secure and
reliable voting systems are much needed and much appreciated. Please give generously at
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/donate

If you prefer to mail in a check and avoid any merchant fees, send it to our office at:

Verified Voting Foundation1550 Bryant Street, Suite 855
San Francisco, CA 94103-4832

SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE
You can subscribe to the Verified Voting Foundation newsletter athttp://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/join

To unsubscribe from the Verified Voting Foundation newsletter, please contact us with your request to unsubscribe at
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/contact

ABOUT US
The Verified Voting Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization championing reliable and publicly verifiable elections. Founded by Stanford University
Computer Science Professor David Dill, the organization supports a requirement for voter-verified paper ballots for elections allowing voters to inspect individual permanent records of their ballots and election officials to conduct meaningful audits and recounts. The organization's website is at
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org

Newsletter editor: Inga Bergeleditor@verifiedvotingfoundation.org

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(c) Copyright 2005, Verified Voting Foundation, Inc.
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