EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Heleni Thayre
Organization : | MA Citizens for Voting Integrity
Post Date : | 9/30/2005
Section Comments
Section : | 6.8
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Comment : | Thus, to best conform to HAVA, a voting system should produce a hand marked permanent quality paper ballot. The VVPAT creates an unnecessary level of complexity for an able bodied voter who can easily mark a ballot, and degrades the quality of the audit by eliminating original documents.] However without a voter verified ballot - a VVPAT or a VVPB - a professional quality audit is not possible at all, and THIS DOES NOT COMFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF HAVA. (A higher quality audit requires a VVPB.) For people who cannot mark a ballot themselves an accessible ballot marker represents the most direct technological solution with the least unnecessary complexity that can lead to error or machine failure. The ballot should be of permanent quality paper that can be verified easily by a text reader. The most fundamental purpose of our elections is to select our public officials by a vote of the people that reflects the true intent of the voters. We have a responsibility to honor the sacrifice of the men and women who have given their lives and health to defend our democracy. And we have a responsibility to preserve the honor of the United States of America by upholding the values we profess to defend at home and around the world by making sure our votes are recorded and tallied in an accurate and reliable way.