Barb Burt, Common Cause asks: Help Us Make Voting Machines Secure

From: Barb Burt, Common Cause
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:59:00 -0700
Subject: Help Us Make Voting Machines Secure
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The 2006 mid-term elections are only six months away, and we know that millions of voters will be faced with malfunctioning electronic voting machines that don't provide a voter-verified paper record and have no way to provide a genuine recount in a close election.

There is a way to prevent this debacle. Common Cause is part of a coalition determined to ensure the integrity of our vote. We have an ambitious campaign plan at both the federal and state levels designed to achieve this goal.

We need your support. This campaign will require significant resources to succeed, so we need your generous support. http://www.commoncause.org/PaperBallots

Two weeks ago, more than 150 of your fellow activists came to Washington, DC - at their own expense - for a two-day lobbying blitz in support of a federal law that would require a voter-verified paper record for electronic voting machines. Those citizen lobbyists, from 30 different states, attended more than 100 meetings in Congressional offices.

Their efforts had convincing results - at least eleven new sponsors of Rep. Rush Holt's bill, HR 550, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act. We believe the bill would pass if brought up for a vote, but there is still resistance.

We need to keep the heat on over the summer months. There's not much time to get this done.

Please help us reach our goal of $15,000 by making your contribution today at: http://www.commoncause.org/PaperBallots

Thank you for everything you do for Common Cause.

Sincerely,

Barb Burt, V.P. and Director of Election Reform Programs
The Common Cause Election Reform Team: Arn, Barry, Ben, Ed, Jenny, Kirk, Megan, Rachel, Sam, Sibley, Susannah, and interns Mona and Tom.