The key to ensuring that every vote is counted is to have some record that’s independent of that computer record.” — Lawrence Norden, senior counsel with New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice.
Do You Want Your Vote to Count? And you thought we were victorious in our push for paper ballots to replace the crappy paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machines (DREs) we use now in 93 out of 95 counties in Tennessee. Well, we were. But in this week’s House Budget subcommittee meeting (Wednesday, 4/29, 11 am in Room 29), some legislators will have to fight to stop a movement by other legislators to delay implementation of the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act (HB 0614, the paper ballot bill) until 2012.
The Sunday Tennessean printed an editorial by Bernie Ellis of Gathering to Save Our Democracy and Margie Parsley, state action chair for the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, who urge you, as we do, to call AND email your state legislators and Governor Phil Bredesen ASAP (on either Monday or Tuesday…or both!) and ask them to keep the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act intact.
You can search for your legislators at http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/.
Governor Bredesen can be reached by phone at 615.741.2001 or by fax at 615.532.9711. Email him at Phil.Bredesen@tn.gov.
Download rebuttal points and history [pdf].
Even Senior Council for the Brennen Center For Justice At NYU School of Law — a nationally recognized voice for voter rights issues — sent a letter [pdf] to the Tennessee General Assembly opposing any attempt to change the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act.
Some Republicans are on board as well. Matt Collins, recently elected Vice Chair of the Davidson County Republican Party and producer for conservative talk station WWTN, understands the urgency of what truly is a non-partisan issue.
Visit VoteSafeTN.org and Liberadio.com for history of the legislation as well as a list of the reasons [pdf] why we should move forward to rid ourselves of paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machines (DREs) and get paper ballots by November of 2010.
Pay close attention (and make an extra effort) if he or she is on the House Budget Subcommittee since they will be ruling on the bill this Wednesday.
Go to http://www.capitol.tn.gov to find out who are your senate and house representatives as well as who sits on the House Budget Subcommittee.
Your participatory deomcracy thanks you!
