Re: [FairVoteMD] Re: urgent - rid Montgomery Co. of punchcards

Sorry I didn't write back sooner, we've been busy over the last few days 
moving our office to another floor in our building (CVD is now on the 6th 
floor, not the 9th floor).

Briefly, the state of Maryland passed a bill last session that would put the 
entire state on a uniform voting system by 2006.  This year's changes would 
represent in Montgomery, Prince George's, Dorchester and Allegany Counties, 
the first phase.  Some election officials and other officials in Montgomery 
especially are concerned about implementation time and cost and may not favor 
going to an electronic system for 2002.  Frankly, I'm hearing this could lead 
to a lawsuit.  

At any rate, now it's pretty much in the hands of the County Council, County 
Executive, and the Governor...

I will be out of email touch over the remainder of the week in case anyone 
doesn't hear back from me.

Thanks-
Eric

Subj:    [FairVoteMD] Re: urgent - rid Montgomery Co. of punchcards
Date:   11/29/01 6:29:42 PM Pacific Standard Time
From:   ryanpoc@hotmail.com
Reply-to:   <A HREF="mailto:FairVoteMD@yahoogroups.com";>
FairVoteMD@yahoogroups.com</A>
To: FairVoteMD@yahoogroups.com

Is this conversation dealing with a new initiation of an electric 
elections voting system throughout all of marylnad?  I've heard about 
it but was unsure what is going on.  Can someone please give me a 
brief summary as to what the decisions are etc.?


--- In FairVoteMD@y..., Cvderic@a... wrote:
> For those of you in Montgomery County, please let your County 
Council know 
> (preferably by this Friday, 11/30) that you strongly urge them to 
get rid of 
> punchcard voting and acquire new, modern electronic voting machines 
for the 
> County, especially now that the State is willing to fund half the 
cost of the 
> upgrade.  (We are focusing on Montgomery County now, but we will 
also be 
> looking at Prince George's shortly, they haven't looked at the 
issue yet, to 
> my knowledge).
> 
> For supporters of alternative voting methods like instant runoff 
voting and 
> forms of proportional representation, this is a great opportunity 
to acquire 
> voting machines that will be able to accomodate these voting 
methods.  In 
> addtion to their other flaws, punchcards aren't able to handle 
ranked ballots.
> 
> You may reach your county councilmembers at the general phone 
number: 
> 240-777-7900; or at the generic e-mail address: county.council@c... 
> 
> Below are the members of the county council:
> 
> Steve Silverman (at-large)
> Blair G. Ewing (at-large)
> Isiah Leggett (at-large)
> Michael L. Subin (at-large)
> Howard A. Denis (District 1)
> Nancy Dacek (District 2)
> Phil Andrews (District 3)
> Marilyn J. Praisner (District 4)
> Derick P. Berlage (District 5)
> 
> Below are talking points about the advantages of new, electronic 
voting 
> equipment, and below that is a proposed statement in support of new 
> electronic voting equipment, which might provide you with more 
information on 
> the issue.
> 
> Please let me know if you have any questions about this issue.  See 
talking 
> points below.  Thank you.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Eric Olson
> 
> Deputy Director
> The Center for Voting and Democracy
> 6930 Carroll Ave.
> Takoma Park, MD 20912
> cvderic@a...
> www.fairvote.org
> 
> 
> Talking points: 
> Electronic voting machines for Montgomery County
> 
> Background
> The state legislature passed a bill last session authorizing a 
state match of 
> 50% for new, electronic voting machines in Montgomery, Prince 
George's, 
> Allegany, and Dorchester Counties.
> 
> The Governor and the Secretary of State are ready to give this 
money to 
> Montgomery County, they simply need support from the County 
Councilmembers 
> and leadership by the December 12 meeting of the Public Works Board 
in order 
> to allocate this money.
> 
> Why Change?
> 
> ·   Montgomery County currently uses punchcard voting, which is an 
outmoded 
> election method.  It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars simply 
to print 
> ballots for state and federal election cycles - which is a cost 
that would be 
> greatly reduced with an electronic system.
> 
> ·   In large part, because of the punchcard voting, Montgomery 
County had 
> 2,862 "no votes" for president last year - this represents 28% of 
the people 
> in the state who didn't vote for president.  Similarly, in the 2000 
election, 
> Montgomery County had 2,565 "overvotes" which invalidated their 
ballots; this 
> represents 65% of the state's overvotes.  In population, Montgomery 
County 
> represents only 18% of the state's population.
> 
> ·   Electronic voting machines are a proven method of reducing 
voter error 
> and greatly reducing the thousands of votes that are wasted in 
Montgomery 
> County in elections here.
> 
> ·   Electronic voting machines allow disabled voters to cast secret 
ballots 
> on their own, which punchcards do not.
> 
> ·   This is a forward-looking county, which should be using the 
best voting 
> technology possible.
> 
> ·   We do not want a mini-Florida situation to taint Montgomery 
County during 
> the 2002 election, where there may be close races for Congress, 
County 
> Executive, State Senate, State House of Delegates, etc.
> 
> ·   Electronic voting machines are easy to use, even for those that 
don't 
> have computers at home, they are similar to ATM machines and other 
things 
> that surround us everyday. 
> 
> ·   Montgomery County is a diverse jurisdiction and electronic 
voting 
> machines are able to easily accommodate language minorities - 
voters may 
> choose from up to 9 languages.  This will make many citizens more 
comfortable 
> with the voting process.
> 
> ·   There is a good chance that federal money will be available to 
> jurisdictions like Montgomery in the near future to help reimburse 
the county 
> for a significant portion of the cost of their purchase (on top of 
the state 
> picking up 50% of the cost).
> 
> *********
> Montgomery County has the opportunity to vastly improve its 
election system 
> by taking advantage of a state grant to acquire electronic voting 
equipment 
> and eliminate punchcards from the county forever.  We urge the 
Montgomery 
> County Council to acquire new, electronic voting machines that will 
provide 
> efficient, effective, and inclusive voting technology for its 
citizens.
> 
> While Montgomery County's Datavote election system is different 
from the 
> punchcard system used in Florida, Montgomery's system nonetheless 
wastes 
> thousands of votes, largely due to outmoded punchcard voting.
> 
> In the 2000 presidential election, there were 2,862 "no votes" for 
president 
> in Montgomery County, which represents 28 percent of the "no votes" 
in the 
> state.  Also in the 2000 election, 65 percent of the 
state's "overvotes" 
> occurred in Montgomery County, despite the fact that Montgomery's 
population 
> is only 18 percent of the state.
> 
> The best electronic voting machines are vastly superior to 
punchcards in 
> minimizing voter error, in accommodating voters whose primary 
language may 
> not be English, and in allowing disabled voters to cast a secret 
ballot on 
> their own.  
> 
> Electronic voting machines will save hundreds of thousands of 
dollars in 
> printing ballots each state and federal election cycle, and are 
flexible 
> enough to upgrade with improvements in voting technology.  
> 
> Electronic voting machines are used in jurisdictions across the 
country with 
> great success.  We support Montgomery County upgrading its voting 
equipment 
> in time for the 2002 elections, particularly with a 50 percent 
state match 
> and the probability that at least some federal money will be 
released to help 
> offset the cost of local jurisdictions that are replacing punchcard 
systems 
> with new, electronic voting machines.




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