Today is The Most Important Day Ever for Paper Ballots in Tennessee

Posted by Mary Mancini on May 12, 2008 under Uncategorized |

HB 1256/SB 1363, Tennessee’s Voter Confidence Act, goes to a full floor vote in the House on Tuesday, May 13. In the Senate it has one more committee (Finance Ways & Means) hoop to jump through today, Monday, May 12. Senate F, W & M members are:

Randy McNally, Chair; Douglas Henry, Vice-Chair; Tim Burchett, Secretary; Diane Black, Raymond Finney, Joe Haynes, Rosalind Kurita, Jim Kyle, Mark Norris, Bo Watson and John Wilder.

Please don’t hesitate. Call them now. The bill states:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Voter Confidence Act of 2007”.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2, is amended by adding the following as a new, appropriately designated section:
2-__-___.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of state law to the contrary and consistent with federal law, any voting system purchased or leased with federal, state or local funds shall provide that the ballot of record shall be a paper ballot marked by the voter, with appropriate accommodation for persons with disabilities. Such ballot shall be available for the voter to verify such voter’s vote before having it counted and retained by the election officials. The system shall maintain the secrecy of the voter’s choices and the ballots of record shall be used in any recounts, contests, or random samplings for accuracy.
(b) The secretary of state and the state election commission are authorized, with the various county election commissions, to implement the provisions of this section for any new purchases after the effective date of this act. In addition, they are authorized to expedite the replacement or modification of any systems that are not in compliance with this section as soon as practical. Federal “Help America Vote Act” funds previously allocated, or any similar funds allocated in the future shall be used to the extent such funds are eligible.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring

Also, NOW is also the time for you to phone or email (preferably both), your state Representative and Senator. You can find phone number and email address information here. If you send an email, make sure you put your zip code in the subject line with a reference to the bill number and name (Voter Confidence Act).

The message is, “I am counting on you to vote in favor of HB 1256 / SB 1363, the Voter Confidence Act, when it comes to the floor for a vote.”

Dear Representative (or Senator) ______________,

I am a constituent of yours, and I would like to ask you to vote in favor of HB 1256/SB 1363, the Voter Confidence Act. It is expected to be ready for a floor vote in the next few days. If passed, this bill will ensure that we vote on durable paper ballots that are tallied by an optical scanner, and retained in a locked ballot box. These paper ballots also become the ballot of record in case a recount is necessary.

This new system will replace the touchscreen electronic voting machines, offering us verifiable ballots, no long lines at the polls, and a system that is less expensive for counties to use.

The cost of changing our voting equipment will be met with federal funds already held by our state.

I look forward to your voting YES to HB 1256/SB 1363. Thank you for your attention to my views on this critical issue.

Sincerely,
Name
Address
Phone Number

We are so close to no longer being one of 6 states at “High” risk for continued voting machine mishaps. This bill does not guarantee a change by this November, however, the Governor still have time to issue a mandate. When in doubt, go low-tech.

UPDATE: The bill made it out of the Senate Finance Ways & Means committee. Woohoo!