Urges Cardin to Join in Call for Independent
Investigation of Maryland's Voting System
For Immediate Release:
October 12, 2005 For Further Information: 301-257-3847 Montgomery County, MD: U.S. Senate candidate Kevin B. Zeese today thanked his opponent in the race, Rep. Ben Cardin, for co-sponsoring H.R. 550, a bill requiring a voter-verified paper ballot for all electronic voting. Cardin's support comes more than two years after the bill was first introduced but only two days after Zeese criticized Cardin for not co-sponsoring the bill. (Correspondence below.) In a letter faxed to Cardin's congressional office this morning, Zeese said: “This is an excellent first step but more is needed. In your position as a leader of the Democratic Party in Maryland you are in a position to push the state to implement a voter-verified paper ballot in time for the 2006 election. There is widespread support for this reform among voters and even Governor Ehrlich has said he is open to a paper trail. The only roadblocks are a few in the state Democratic Party's leadership.” Zeese mentioned that Delegate Sheila Hixson has been blocking such legislation for two years.
Zeese also noted that based on both public documents and insider reports from election administrators “the fact is the Diebold voting machines have not performed well. There have been consistent reports of screen freezes, machine crashes, blank computer cards that store votes, widespread “error” messages, candidates missing from ballots, and meltdowns at regional tabulation centers.” As a result Zeese plans to call for an independent investigation and he urged Rep. Cardin to join him in this request.
The Senate candidate, running independent of the two major parties, noted an independent investigation was needed by the Maryland Board of Public Works because “Linda Lamone and the SBE cannot be counted on to provide the public with honest information as they are complicit in their support for Diebold voting equipment and have covered up problems with e-voting in Maryland.”
Zeese favors voting on paper ballots counted by precinct-based optical scanners because “they are accessible to the disabled, count the vote rapidly, are cost-effective and produce a voter-verified paper audit trail that can be used to independently verify the machine count.”
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October 12, 2005
The Honorable Congressman Ben Cardin 2207 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
fax: 202-225-9219
Dear Rep. Cardin:
Thank you for co-sponsorng HR 550 – the bill introduced by Rush Holt (D-NJ) to require a voter verified paper audit trail with electronic voting. I'm pleased you have finally come out in favor of paper audit records. As you know this is a very important issue in Maryland as we are the only state that continues to vote statewide on paperless electronic voting machines that cannot conduct an independent recount.
I wrote you and other U.S. Senate candidates in Maryland an open letter on September 19 urging you to demand a paper record in Maryland voting by the 2006 election. (See enclosure.) On September 25, I spoke at a Maryland progressive meeting in Baltimore County, “Widening the Circle,” where I urged voters to oppose candidates who did not urge a voter verified paper ballot and mentioned that you had not endorsed the Holt Bill. Linda Schade of TrueVoteMD.org spoke with your staffer at the event about your lack of support for the Holt Bill. I'm pleased that on September 27 you joined as the 157th co-sponsor of the bill, a bill that was first introduced two and a half years ago in May 2003.
This is an excellent first step but more is needed. In your position as a leader of the Democratic Party in Maryland you are in a position to push the state to implement a voter-verified paper ballot in time for the 2006 election. There is widespread support for this reform among voters and even Governor Ehrlich has said he is open to a paper trail. The only roadblocks are a few in the state Democratic Party's leadership. Delegate Sheila Hixson, who has been blocking such legislation, said in a recent hearing that she would consider “emergency legislation” on election reform issues in time for the 2006 elections. It is not clear whether this will include voter-verified paper ballots. If Maryland were to require paper ballots, it would become the 27th state to do so.
It is important to understand that paper records verifiied by voters is the specific reform which will restore transparency and confidence to our elections – generic 'vote verification' language will not put public concerns to rest.
Despite the public claims of Linda Lamone, the Administrator of the State Board of Elections, the fact is the Diebold voting machines have not performed well. There have been consistent reports of screen freezes, machine crashes, blank computer cards that store votes, widespread “error” messages, candidates missing from ballots, and meltdowns at regional tabulation centers. Some of this information has been made public (e.g., the IT section of the 2004 Lessons Learned report, conducted by the Montgomery County Board of Elections which found up to 12 percent failures in the voting machines) but most has been kept from the public. In addition, I have spoken to insiders who were involved in administering the elections and they have confirmed that problems were widespread, especially in your Baltimore County, in the last election.
I will be calling for an independent investigation of Maryland's voting system by the Maryland Board of Public Works in the very near future. I hope you will join me in urging this impartial examination. Linda Lamone and the SBE cannot be counted on to provide the public with honest information as they are complicit in their support for Diebold voting equipment and have covered-up problems with e-voting in Maryland. When the facts come out about the widespread failures of the Diebold voting equipment, Maryland will have no choice but to change its voting system. Ensuring the truth is known is critical to creating transparent and accurate elections in Maryland.
Thank you again for co-sponsoring HR 550. I look forward to working with you for transparent and accurate voting in Maryland.
Sincerely,
Kevin B. Zeese U.S. Senate Candidate 301-257-3847
enclosure Sept. 19, 2005 letter to Ben Cardin
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September 19, 2005
Dear Congressman Cardin:
I am writing to you and all the others candidates running with me in the U.S. Senate race in Maryland to ask that you join in urging Maryland to put in place a voter verified paper ballot for electronic voting in time for the 2006 elections.
In the last two days, seismic changes have occurred that make the case opposing paper records untenable:
Yesterday, the prestigious Carter-Baker Commission recommended that voter verified paper records be required for all states using electronic voting.
Today, the only state other than Maryland that votes without a paper record, Georgia, joined the growing chorus in requiring a paper ballot record for e-voting.
In the last two years, 26 states have passed laws requiring a voter verified paper record.
When Georgia puts in place its system Maryland will be the only state in the United States voting statewide without a paper record verified by the voter. How can that be justified?
Why is a voter verified paper ballot record essential? First, there have been repeated studies showing serious security problems with computerized voting. Security flaws allow votes to be manipulated by various means. It is virtually impossible to discover this manipulation if it occurs.
Second, the experience with the Diebold machines in Maryland has been disappointing. The Montgomery County IT report found that up to 12% of their machines had problems in the 2004 election including machines freezing and crashing in the midst of votes, error messages on the machines, blank cards that record the votes and machines being unable to start. In Baltimore County there were such widespread problems that it took four days for the results to be reported in November 2004 and four months to be made official. Even today, there continue to be inconsistencies between the State and Baltimore County reports on the numbers of votes cast – a discrepancy of 21,000 votes.
But even without these security and performance problems it is critical to have a voter verified paper record because without a paper record it is impossible to have an open, transparent and independent recount. The Diebold machines used by Maryland are unable to perform an independent recount. A paper record preserves the original intent of the voter, the Diebold machine preserves the computer record of the vote. The only recount possible with the Diebold machines is a recount of whatever the computer says occurred with no independent record to compare it to. Thus, if malicious intent or malfunction changed the vote, the recount will merely affirm that malicious or malfunctioned vote count. There is no independent record with which to audit the machine performance. With a voter verified paper record the original intent of the voter is preserved and an independent audit or recount can be conducted. Further, this recount can be transparent so that all candidates, political parties, the media and concerned voters can observe it.
Maryland is in an untenable position in resisting a voter verified paper audit trail. It is time for the state to face-up to the real problems with e-voting and put in place a system that includes a voter verified paper ballot that can be the final vote count if there is any dispute with computerized voting. As a candidate on the ballot in 2006 I hope you will join me in urging Maryland to adopt a voter verified paper ballot in time for the 2006 elections.
Sincerely,
Kevin B. Zeese Unity Candidate for U.S. Senate |
