HR 811 vs. Paperless elections

No matter what arguments they make, the reality is, those who oppose Rush Holt's bill are pretty much guaranteeing us paperless elections in the future.

Haven't we learned enough from 2000 and 2004 how votes can be stolen? Shouldn't we all be pushing for that, no matter what other criticisms we may have of the bill?

One of the big sticking points for voting activists who oppose HR 811 is that it allows the continuation of DREs, direct recording electronic machines which tally the voter's record in the unit on which the voter marks his or her ballot.

Mark over at Mark-MyWords.blogspot.com summarizes this point neatly:

It's unfortunate for the cause of quality democracy in America that some think a DRE ban is feasible within the next decade to come without the hard evidence of unreliable and unsecure DREs that HR-811 would provide. They display a stunning lack of awareness of how any legislation is created, forged and passed in this country.

A DRE ban from our influence-drenched US Congress is simply not feasible without widespread, hard auditing evidence that the press and public couldn't ignore. That's exactly what we would have with a VVPAT. That's why Holt's HR-811 is savvy and effective.

Holt, like Kucinich, would love to see DREs go away. Rush, however, realizes that the light of universal auditing is the very best way to get there. Is his bill being pummeled by special interests in House Administration Committee sessions? Of couse it is. He's keeping his 'eye on the prize', however, and the Light of Auditing in HR-811 still stands. The bill deserves our support.

I agree. To read the rest of Mark's argument, click here.