"The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003"
-- Endorsed by VFP Board of Directors, September, 2003
Veterans For Peace is committed to the ideals and principles of American democracy. The endorsement of initiatives about electronic voting machines is an important, natural outgrowth of this commitment.
Veterans For Peace resolves to endorse "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003"(HR 2239), introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (http://holt.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=5996 ), which would require all voting systems to produce a voter-verified paper record for use in manual audits and recounts, ban the use of undisclosed software and wireless communications devices in voting systems, and require all voting systems to meet these requirements prior to the general election of 2004.
Communities all across America are purchasing electronic voting (e-voting) machines, but there are serious security issues with the technology that aren't being addressed. Most of the machines use "black box" software that hasn't been publicly reviewed for security. Almost none of the voting technology companies provide voter-verifiable paper ballots. A recent analysis from several academic researchers outlines the many and varied ways that anyone from a technically proficient insider to an average voter could disrupt an e-voting system to defraud an election.
HR 2239 would require voting machines to use publicly reviewed software.
HR 2239 would also mandate voter verifiable paper audit trails for all new e-voting machines, a prerequisite for accountability and accuracy.
When enacted, this federal law would require all states to use election equipment that provides a voter-verifiable paper audit trail. This means that voters could check a paper ballot for accuracy before casting the vote --without having to trust the voting machine.
Voter verification of ballots is crucial, because only the voter can check whether the ballot is accurate. A paper audit trail makes it possible to reconstruct the election results from the original voter-verified records, without having to trust the election equipment. In other words, it is possible to do a meaningful recount if an election is in dispute.
The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 2239) would mandate the necessary safeguards for U.S. elections in every state.
Be it hereby resolved that Veterans For Peace publicize and promote increased public awareness to help restore and guarantee public confidence in voting standards for public officials, in local, state and national elections.