Re: urgent - rid Montgomery Co. of punchcards

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.