News

VerifiedVoting.org lobbies on voter-verified paper ballots

June 12, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A coalition of organizations and more than 200 individuals are lobbying the U.S. Congress in support of legislation requiring voter-verified paper ballots, according to a news release.

VerifiedVoting.org supports H.R.550, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, and S.330, the Voting Integrity and Verification Act, which would require that voting systems used in federal elections produce a voter-verified paper ballot that voters can inspect before casting their votes.

"Voting machines of all makes and models are malfunctioning routinely in nationwide elections," said VerifiedVoting.org senior political advisor Bobbie Brinegar. "Voter-verified paper ballots provide the most reliable way to count votes accurately when voting machines fail as they inevitably do."

For example, a single paperless e-voting machine in Carteret County, N.C., permanently lost more than 4,400 votes in November, throwing a statewide race for Agricultural Commissioner into confusion.

"A rapidly increasing number of states - 22 at last count - already have laws or policies requiring voter-verified paper ballots," said VerifiedVoting.org nationwide coordinator Pamela Smith. "Congress should ride the groundswell of popular support for legislation requiring voter-verified paper ballots and mandatory audits so the public can have confidence in the results of elections."

VerifiedVoting.org joins Common Cause, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Rock the Vote, VoteTrustUSA, VotersUnite.org, and Working Assets in coordinating advocates from at least 26 states and representing at least 65 congressional districts. They have 80 meetings scheduled on Capitol Hill.