LIBERADIO(!)

Or maybe it should be called the “Electonic Voting Machine Hocus Pocus” as our State legislature is this close to once again making our dreams of secure elections disappear.

Paperless electronic voting machines, like the kind we currently use to vote on in Tennessee, are sometimes referred to as a “black box,” but a “black hole” would be more like it. Like a black hole, once the true intention of your vote goes in, there is no way for it to escape – no paper confirmation, no audit system, and no way to identify a problem and fix it.

So when the Voter Confidence Act – a great piece of legislation that mandated that by 2010 Tennesseans would vote on paper ballots, that the paper ballots would be the ballot of record in case of a recount, and random post-election audits in 3% of precincts – passed 92-3 in the State House and unanimously in the State Senate, there was much rejoicing.

This session, however, joy has turned to frustration as Tennessee Republicans – with the help of the new State Election Coordinator Mark Goins, and old State Election Coordinator and current paid consultant to Goins and the state Election department, Brooks Thompson (who should be questioned as to why after the legislation was enacted last year he did nothing to, you know, implement it), – are trying desperately to gut the thing.

We urged you on Monday to call members of the House Elections sub-committee and the Senate State and Local Government committee who were set to consider the bills that would repeal the most important aspects of the Voter Confidence Act – HB0295 by Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin) and SB0305 by Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and HB0614 by Rep. Curry Todd (R-Collierville) / SB0872 [pdf] by Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro). After yesterday’s committee meetings, it appears as if HB0614 and SB0872 are the ones that will move forward:

As introduced, deletes all provisions requiring the purchase of precinct-based optical scanner voting systems only, including language referring to Help America Vote Act funds; deletes mandatory hand count audits of paper ballots created by such machines; deletes language. – Amends TCA Title 2 and Chapter 1108 of the Public Acts of 2008.

As anticipated, money was presented as the reason for gutting the bill. Apparently, a price can be put on free and fair elections. Not anticipated was the amendment to the legislation that would delay implementation of the Voter Confidence Act until 2012 – a fair compromise for some.

But what will happen in two years? First, the federal HAVA money that we have now will undoubtedly be frittered away, leaving us with a self-fulfilling prophecy of empty election coffers. Secondly, and more importantly, another flawed, flipped, and suspect election will go by.

Tennessee deserves a fairly elected Governor. But if we vote in 2010 using the same un-secure and unverifiable electronic voting machines we use now, how can we be sure we’ll have one?

Yesterday, the legislation to gut the Voter Confidence Act and the amendment to delay implementation were deferred so that the original joint Study Committee could meet again this afternoon at 3:30 PM to discuss. We applaud the members of the Committee – Senator Tim Burchett (Chair), Senator Thelma Harper, Senator Joe Haynes , Senator Roy Herron , Senator Mark Norris , Senator Jamie Woodson, Rep. John Litz (Vice-Chair), Rep. Susan Lynn, Secretary, Rep. Jimmy Eldridge, Rep. Gary Moore, Rep. Joe McCord, and Rep. Larry Turner – for taking a step back to consider the broader implications of delaying implementation of the Voter Confidence Act.

UPDATE: The video of yesterday’s House Committee discussion is up on the GA website. Scroll down and click on HB614.