FC: Call for help: Avert a voting disaster in Santa Clara!

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

---

Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 18:47:26 -0800
Subject: We need your help!!!
From: Barbara Simons <simons () acm org>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
CC: "David L. Dill" <dill () cs stanford edu>,
   "Peter G. Neumann" <neumann () csl sri com>,
   "L. Peter Deutsch" <ghost () aladdin com>, Rebecca Mercuri <mercuri () acm org>,
   <kimalex () calvoter org>, Deirdre Mulligan <dmulligan () mail law berkeley edu>

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.Kutras () ceo co santa-clara ca us
(He is the staff member recommending the voting machine purchase.)

Supervisor Liz Kniss:  liz.kniss () bos co santa-clara ca us
Supervisor James T. Beall, Jr.:  jim.beall () bos co santa-clara ca us
Supervisor Donald F. Gage:  don.gage () bos co santa-clara ca us
Supervisor Blanca Alvarado:  blanca.alvarado () bos co santa-clara ca us
Supervisor Pete McHugh:  primo.mchugh () bos co scl ca us

(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-g () chicory stanford edu

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.




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