HB 166, Representative Peña's bill to require a paper audit trail for voting machines, was voted out of committee yesterday. Write your state rep to voice your support for this bill - a sample letter is posted below for your convenience.
Representative XXX,
I am writing to express my support for House Bill 166. Introduced by Representative Peña, HB 166 would require that all electronic voting equipment used in Texas produce an auditable paper trail. Like many voters, I am concerned that the electronic voting equipment currently used by my county provides no backup system to compare the totals tabulated by the voting machine with the actual votes cast.
Electronic voting machines are based on software that is, by its nature complex and essentially invisible to those overseeing it. Without proper safeguards, machines are vulnerable to malicious and nearly undetectable changes in the software. That is why it is important to have the assurance of a voter-verified paper ballot in the form of a paper audit trail.
Please join me in voicing your support for HB 166.
Sincerely,
XXX
(Kudos to Common Cause for the language used in paragraph 2)
Posted by sarah at May 3, 2005 8:10 AM