Tennesseans want verifiable paper ballot system called for in '08 law

[doeriver]

Voter confidence is on the bubble
Tennesseans want verifiable system called for in '08 law
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110318/OPINION03/103180348/2069/OPINION/Voter-confidence-is-on-the-bubble?source=nletter-news
2:23 AM, Mar. 18, 2011

Written by Dick Williams, state chairman of Common Cause/Tennessee.

One of our most valued rights as Americans is the right to vote. That right is meaningless if the voter cannot be assured that their vote is not only counted but is counted for the candidates of their choice.

Evidence over several years has shown that the touch-screen or DRE voting machines can be hacked intentionally and are subject to unintended errors. Voters cannot be sure that their votes, if they were counted, were counted for the candidates they intended.

After four years work by citizens, the legislature in 2008 adopted, almost unanimously, the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act (TVCA) requiring Tennessee counties to switch to paper ballots completed by voters, counted by optical scanners and random audits to verify the accuracy of the machines. Ballots would be available for clarifying close or contested races. Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds are available to buy the machines.

For years, more voters have voted on these reliable optical scan systems nationwide than any other way; more than 60 percent of all voters, including Tennessee's Hamilton County and, more recently, Pickett County.

The nearly unanimous 2008 vote was after hours of testimony and statistics over three years, a special study committee of the legislature and a report from the respected Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) — all pointing to the unreliability of the DREs and the reliability of the optical scanning system.

Delay should be amended

Over the 2009-10 legislative session, implementation of the TVCA was delayed until 2012 over a question of what version of optical scanner was required by the TVCA and perceived cost to the counties. Supporters of the act contested both issues, but the legislature voted to keep the act and delay implementation.

The secretary of state's office and the coordinator of elections, with members from both parties on the Tennessee Election Commission, have viewed elections with optical scanners in other states. In addition, a request for proposals (RFP) is being drafted and new machines are under review by the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for the certification required by the act.

This year, House Bill 386 has been introduced by Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, and others. The companion Senate Bill 1203 is sponsored by Sen. Ken Yager, R-Harriman. This bill would repeal the TVCA unless this year's budget specifically appropriates state funds to cover what are alleged to be significant costs to county governments to switch to the newer machines.

The facts, however, show that a number of jurisdictions have found that scanned paper ballots actually save counties millions of dollars. For more detailed information, visit http://www.verifiedvoting.org .

If this bill is passed, it should be amended such that the TVCA is kept for whenever the modest start-up and transition costs can be funded to implement the act, with federal HAVA funds to purchase the machines. In addition, individual counties should be allowed to pay those local costs for using new or replacement machines, if approved by the county election commission and the county legislative body.