2009 Issues in the States
Sean Flaherty, Verified Voting Researcher
2009 has been an eventful year for verified voting in the states. The year saw more progress toward policies that provide trustworthy voting – as well as significant efforts to reverse progress already made. Verified Voting has played an important role in both fighting for reform and holding the line against reversals.
Progress On Audits: New Hampshire, D.C., California
This year, Verified Voting worked with many partners to assist election officials in a number of states with vote tabulation audit proposals. In New Hampshire, we provided advice to the state’s Electronic Ballot Counting Device Advisory Committee on audits of vote tallies. The Committee released its report just this week, recommending that future voting systems be checked by hand-counted audits “of randomly selected jurisdictions and randomly selected races, with sufficient statistical power to serve as a check against errors or fraud that might change the outcome of an election.”
In the District of Columbia, we provided background and advice to the Board of Elections and Ethics and the District Council. Our efforts helped result in the first post-election audit legislation passed in the District, with the bill’s language improved from its original form in key areas such as public transparency and escalation procedures. In California, we are currently working with election officials as well as advocates and experts from around the nation to develop legislation that provides for strong statistical audits of election results. Last but not least, Montana passed a requirement for post-election vote-tabulation audits this year.
The New Challenge: Internet Voting for Military and Overseas Voters
Internet technology can be used wisely to help voters in uniform and civilians living abroad. Blank ballots can be delivered electronically for return via regular or Express mail delivery. As the excellent Pew Report “No Time to Vote” [shows, electronic submission of voted ballots is not necessary to solve the many problems that uniformed and overseas voters face in the voting process. In view of this, in Ohio and Michigan, legislation to address longstanding problems for overseas voters is moving forward without provisions for the electronic return of voted ballots. The Ohio legislation even explicitly forbids the electronic return of voted ballots. Both states’ bills have passed their Houses of Representatives and await Senate action. The Michigan bill is H5279, and the Ohio legislation is HB260.
In 2009, Verified Voting helped defeat legislation in Washington and Illinois that would have begun the march toward insecure Internet voting. But in Colorado, West Virginia, and Nevada, legislation to create pilot projects for Internet voting has been signed into law. We anticipate that the 2010 legislative session will be even more challenging in addressing the needs of our men and women in uniform and overseas civilian voters without creating problems with security and reliability. Even so, there are strong indications that our message is being heard.
Holding the Line: Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia
In 2009, Tennessee, Maryland, and Virginia all faced efforts to reverse or delay their progress toward verifiable paper ballot voting systems. We worked with state advocates to help ensure that all three states remain on course. In Tennessee, we provided information to election officials and attorneys that helped clarify the standards for voting systems, and we helped defeat an effort to move the deadline for verifiable voting from 2010 to 2012. In Maryland, we helped state advocates ensure that challenges (like funding in the budget) to the transition to optically scanned paper ballots won’t derail that much needed change. In Virginia, we helped beat back efforts to repeal the Commonwealth’s 2007 ban on the future purchase of direct-recording electronic voting systems. But these battles are far from over. In 2010, in order to protect the course toward reform we must be vigilant. We urge lawmakers in Tennessee to resist any push for delaying verifiable voting beyond November 2010 when the legislative session reconvenes in January.
Verified Voting will working hard in the states in 2010, and we will need all the help you can offer.
