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We've already covered this.
 
Nearly a century
now gone...
Since women stood with
Raw, aching knuckles
throbbing, swollen ankles
long sweltering days,
freezing cold and icy rain.
Speaking truth in embroidery
that fluttered on a bitter wind.
Suffering torture
at the hands of hypocrites,
Suffering ridicule
at the hands of men,
who preferred them
to just birth babies. 
They risked it all
and stood nonetheless.
 
We've already covered this.
 
Fifty years more
and here is Selma
and Rosa and Martin and
Oh!
How they walked
and walked and walked and walked.
Left those buses empty
and useless as a womb
that can only abort.
And they walked
their feet speaking truth
and made men of power
angry so angry,
as they turned
the other cheek
for another glancing blow.
But they risked it all
and walked nonetheless.
 
We've already covered this.
 
Another half-century gone
and here is Madness
come 'round again, this time
with invisible votes and slick machines,
a diabolical diamond
scintillating
with a million evil facets
designed to confound.
DREs and TSXs and VVPATs
(Oh my!)
Electronics and glitches
and interpreters and code
And a whole lotta
smokescreen
and dirty money
Oh God of Technology
and no one responsible
in this house of mirrors,
every finger pointing 
in circles at another.
 
So continues
this American Struggle
that is 
the very heartbeat of our nation.
And so continues
the hope and the fight
and the labor pains
for the dream
that was.
And shall be again.
For we walk,
and stand,
and follow
in mighty footsteps. 
 
One voice.
One vote.
 
We've already covered this.
 
--Pamela Haengel, May 6, 2006

Pamela Haengel, President
Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay
www.VIATampaBay.org

JOIN VotePA      SUPPORT FAIR & ACCURATE ELECTIONS IN PENNSYLVANIA       DONATE

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VOTER ID??
Hear VotePA's Executive Director, interviewed on KDKA Radio Pittsburgh HERE

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IN MEMORIAM -- MERLE SMITH KUZNIK
Pollworker, Voting Rights Hero Who Supported & Inspired VotePA

Merle Smith Kuznik, 93, died August 12 2011 at Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg PA following a tragic accident at home a week earlier. She was the beloved mother of our founder and director, Marybeth Kuznik. Merle led an active life that was an inspiration to those who knew her. A retired elementary teacher, Merle especially cared about the right of every citizen to participate in our democracy by voting. With nearly 30 years as a precinct Judge of Elections, at the time of her death Merle was still working at her poll in Penn Township every election day. Merle was an instrumental member and strong supporter of VotePA. On July 4 of this year Merle participated with VotePA in the voting rights rally in Franklin, Venango County (photo at left.)    [MORE]

Please contribute to VotePA in memory of MERLE SMITH KUZNIK

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VIVA, VENANGO!
Courageous Election Board Fighting Local Politicians' Opposition to Forensic Fxamination
of Paperless iVotronic Voting System

PAPER BALLOTS TO BE USED IN NOVEMBER!!

UPDATE, August 4 -- At its meeting tonight, the Venango County Election Board voted to use PAPER BALLOTS for the November 2011 Election! .
Three American heroes on Venango County's Election Board have been doing their job to protect our votes in Pennsylvania. After learning of serious problems reported by voters attempting to use the county's paperless touchscreen voting machines during the May 17 Primary, the Election Board directed that their entire ES&S iVotronic voting system be subjected to a forensic examination by a team of expert computer scientists, who have volunteered their services to the county for free. This forensic examination will be the first of its kind ever in any of the fifty Pennsylvania counties still using paperless Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines.	ELECTION BOARD HEROES Venango County Election Board members (L to R) Martha Breene, Craig Adams, and Eleanora Miller
But even though the exam will be free, for some reason a faction of local politicians seems to be opposed anyone taking a hard look at the iVotronic machines. [MORE]
CITIZENS RALLY IN SUPPORT OF VOTERS RIGHTS & VENANGO COUNTY ELECTION BOARD July 4, 2011 ­ Citizens from at least different three political parties united today in a rally for voters' rights in front of the beautiful Venango County Courthouse in Franklin, PA. The Independence Day event was in support of the Venango County Election Board, which has been facing stiff opposition from local politicians and media as they plan to conduct a forensic examination of the county's paperless iVotronic touchscreen voting machines in the wake of problems reported during the May Primary. [MORE] Venango County Election Board Petitions for New Solicitor - MORE Venango Election Board Meeting: Who's Watching the Hen House while iVotronic Voting Machines Await Forensic Exam in Wet Storage Room? - MORE Venango County Election Board Authorizes Forensic Fxamination of Paperless iVotronic Voting System - MORE

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2011 PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY ELECTION

Primary Election news reports HERE.

Thank you to all who called VotePA's Pennsylvania Voting Machine Hotline, 717-884-VOTE. We will do our best over the coming days and weeks to follow up on problems reported.

Congratulations, Stephanie Singer

Although we are a nonpartispan organization, VotePA has long urged our supporters to work for better elections through the politcal party of their choice, and to run for office whenever and wherever they believe they will be able to make a difference.

Stephanie Singer of Philadelphia is doing just that. Running a focused campaign on an election reform platform, in the May 17 Primary Stephanie defeated Marge Tartaglione, a politically powerful incumbent with a history of election transparency problems, and she has won a nomination for the office of City Commissioner.

Here is what Sam Katz, of Philadelphia Magazine said about Stephanie:

"The emergence of Stephanie Singer has enormous implications. She will be one of three city commissioners, replacing Mrs. Tartaglione. She is the first PhD to sit in that office. Generally speaking, that hasn't been a job requirement. As a former candidate with a laser-like determination, I must say Singer's focus and discipline impress me. She is a comer. If Al Schmidt, one of two Republicans nominated for this office and a leader of the anti-Republican machine faction, also wins in November, these two could align and change the entire culture of the Philadelphia electoral process. This could be truly historic and something to watch."

More about Stephanie and her Primary win HERE.

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ATTENTION, GOVERNOR CORBETT

The voting systems Pennsylvania purchased in 2006 under the Help America Vote Act have finished five full years of use. They are computers, and they are aging rapidly, especially the paperless touchscreen and pushbutton voting machines now used in 50 of our largest counties. As the voting machines age, it is likely that more and more problems will happen with them. By the end of your 2011-2015 term, they will be near (or perhaps even way beyond) the end of their useful lives.

No money will be saved by using worn-out voting machines that create problems in our elections. Before that happens, we call upon you to do the most economical thing, the most open and transparent thing, and the thing that will protect Pennsylvania's democracy: we call upon your administration to plan now for the replacement Pennsylvania's aging Direct Recording Electronic voting machines with modern optical scan systems that protect every vote with a paper ballot.

Optical scan voting is the most cost-effective, accessible, and secure voting system available today. It is already used by over 60% of American voters.

Our Pennsylvania voters all deserve the protections of a voter marked paper ballot, too.

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THANK YOU, VOTERS

Thank you to all voters who reported problems to our hotline in November 2010. We did our best to reach everyone and help resolve problems.

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VotePA CALLS FOR WITHDRAWAL OF LEGAL CHALLENGES TO CANDIDATES

August 11, 2010 -- VotePA announced today that it is urging both major political parties and their candidates to withdraw legal challenges filed this week against the nomination papers of third party and independent candidates, unless the challengers are claiming willful election fraud.

Challenging candidate nominations in a court of law is serious business that can hurt the democratic process for everyone. Legal challenges should be reserved for situations with clear evidence of deliberate petitioning fraud or other lawbreaking. Challenges should never be allowed to appear as a partisan attempt by one political party or candidate to manipulate, suppress, or remove the nominations of another. Pennsylvania's system needs to be changed to prevent this. [MORE]

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20th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act
Calls for Increased Accessibility to the Ballot

By Marybeth Kuznik, Founder and Executive Director, VotePA

July 26, 2010 -- Twenty years ago today, the Americans With Disabilities Act was enacted and the lives of millions of people changed for the better. Today we recognize how the ADA provided for curb cuts, ramps for wheelchairs, accessible parking spaces, closed captioning broadcasts, and many other familiar accommodations. One of the most important accomplishments of the Americans With Disabilities Act is that it made civil rights for the disabled the law of our land. The ADA has made full participation much more possible for anyone dealing with one or more of the many forms of disability that are a part of human life.

But even today, after twenty years of this law and its great strides and improvement, barriers and closed doors do remain for people living with disabilities.

Unfortunately one of the areas that still need improvement is voting. [MORE]

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THANK YOU, Senator Specter!

December 22, 2009 -- VotePA commends Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter for becoming the first cosponsor added to Florida Senator Bill Nelson's Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act, S. 1431. The bill is the Senate version of New Jersey Representative Rush Holt's Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act (HR 2894) that was introduced in the US House earlier this year.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
Pollworkers teach two young Westmoreland County citizens about democracy as their Great-Grandma signs their Mom in to vote.	Just days before the historic 2008 election, several Pennyslvania counties passed restrictive rules banning all photography, video recording, and in some cases even cell phones from polling places. Although this was never an issue in past elections, the counties now cite "voter privacy" and "order" as reasons for the rules. We believe the real reason is to keep groups like YouTube, Video The Vote, and others, including the press, from documenting any election problems on film, especially those with electronic voting machines. VotePA is opposed to these rules and applauds the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lawsuit that stood up to challenge them. We believe that while people should use common sense and courtesy, the public act of voting should be celebrated and historic elections should be fully documented. The only thing secret about voting should be each voter's ballot.
In the meantime it's heartbreaking that this beautiful photograph, captured during a past election in Westmoreland County, would actually be illegal if taken there now.

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UPDATE -- October 29, 2008 Federal EAC announces that SysTest, the lab that performed the secret Allegheny County software test, is TO BE DECERTIFIED!! Nonconformities cited in the decision included failure to create and validate test methods, improper documentation of testing and unqualified personnel. EAC Announcement       Allegheny County Test Story

PA Citizens win one -- a huge victory for EMERGENCY PAPER BALLOTS! Decision of Federal judge will require the use of emergency paper ballots when 50% or more of voting machines in a precinct are not working. Several VotePA members, including Executive Director Marybeth Kuznik testified during the 8-hour hearing.

 

One Victory For the People of Pennsylvania
October 29, 2008

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Federal Judge Harvey S. Bartle III ruled today that emergency paper ballots must be made available when fifty percent or more voting machines fail at polling locations across Pennsylvania.  Judge Bartle, who is the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, issued the ruling in favor of plaintiffs who had argued that voters could be disenfranchised by having to wait hours in line due to voting machine breakdowns.  The plaintiffs presented testimony at an eight hour hearing yesterday before Judge Bartle that voters had faced such long lines caused by voting machine problems during the primary election in Pennsylvania in April, particularly in low-income minority neighborhoods.   [More from VoterAction]

Several membes of VotePA testified at the hearing. Executive Director Marybeth Kuznik testified as an experienced Judge of Elections and Inspector of Elections in Westmoreland County who has experienced electronic voting machine breakdowns in her poll. Stephanie Frank Singer of Campaign Scientific testified regarding her analysis of data involving voter population in counties and precincts.

Opinion of Judge Bartle     OLD PA DOS Directive      NEW PA DOS Directive

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Nice try, but No Secret Testing of Voting Machines, please!
October 21, 2008

VotePA STATEMENT ON ALLEGHENY COUNTY SOFTWARE VERIFICATION TESTING

Yesterday afternoon, Allegheny County announced that it had tested and verified the firmware on a random sample of eighteen of its ES&S iVotronic voting machines. The tests were said to be conducted at the County's elections warehouse on Saturday and Monday under the supervision of County Election officials following protocols developed in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of State. The County said the actual testing was done by SysTest Labs, which is the private consulting firm that performed the original testing of the iVotronic to the 2002 "federal" standards, allowing its current certification in Pennsylvania and other states.

While VotePA commends officials in Allegheny County and at the Pennsylvania Department of State for at least making an effort to help assure that this software-dependent voting equipment is ready to accurately record votes in this historic election, we believe these tests were limited and flawed by several problems with the way they were performed.

First and foremost, all testing of voting equipment should be done publicly, but the public was never informed of Allegheny County's software testing or permitted to observe it in any way. This is wrong. Citizens have a right to see and follow the process of how our elections are run. Tests of voting machines that are done in secret as these were, with citizens having no knowledge or opportunity to observe, simply do not inspire public confidence in the electoral process. At worst secret testing may even undermine the public's trust in election results.

The Pennsylvania Election Code clearly provides avenues for members of the public to observe the operation of our elections. We call on all officials to follow the letter, intent, and spirit of these laws at all times and through all steps of the electoral process. The public must be able to follow and observe testing and preparation of voting systems including not only software verification, but also parallel testing, certification testing, and any other testing that is done at the county or state level. A videotape made available after the fact is simply not acceptable, because it is not enough. Elections belong to the people, and the people must be able to observe their elections while they are being prepared and conducted.    [More]        

PDF of Statement HERE

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September 25, 2008 -- Hearing on Preparedness for General Election
VotePA Testimony to PA House State Government Committee

By Marybeth Kuznik, Executive Director, VotePA

Ladies and Gentlemen of the State Government Committee:

Forty days from now our nation will select the leaders that will govern us for the next four years. With the many problems we are facing today, this is an incredibly important election with great public interest. There are huge numbers of newly registered voters, and record turnout is expected on Election Day. This turnout may reach 80% in some areas.

As one of the largest swing states, Pennsylvania may well become a deciding factor this year. It is more important than ever that every eligible citizen who wants to vote gets to vote and to have his or her counted accurately. We absolutely have to "get it right" this time.

Public officials and citizen organizations all over Pennsylvania are working hard to help ensure a fair, smooth, and accurate election on November 4. But there are a number of issues that remain very concerning, especially with our voting systems. [MORE]

PDF Document HERE

Ring the bells in Centre County.... Another Angel Gets Its Wings!
CENTRE COUNTY CHOOSES PAPER BALLOTS

July 22, 2008 -- The Centre County Board of Commissioners voted today to purchase precinct-count optical scanners, accessible ballot markers, and voter-verified paper ballots in time for the November election! VotePA commends commissioners Jon Eich and Rich Rogers for having the courage to do the right thing and make this wise choice. Congratulations and thanks goes to Mary Vollero her organization the Concerned Voters of Centre County, and to all VotePA members who helped get this passed.

With the Centre joining our other 2008 Angels (Fayette, Lackawanna, and Wayne counties), we now have 17 of our 67 counties using some form of voter-marked and voter-verifed paper ballot for November. 

VotePA press release commending Centre County decision HERE

Read the original Centre County iVotronic saga  HERE

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50 Counties STILL on paperless electronic voting machines!
Pennsylvania: State of Denial

Jake Soboroff of 'Why Tuesday?' gets it all on tape at the Dem Debate in Philly... CLUELESS PA OFFICIALS SAY: "NO TROUBLE WITH TOUCHSCREENS" Mayor Nutter Says 'No Problems, They Got Me Elected'; PA Gov Rendell Admits He 'Knows Nothing About Them, But They're All Approved by HAVA' Learn more at WHY TUESDAY? and BradBlog!

"UNCOUNTED" DEBUT IN PENNSYLVANIA STATE CAPITOL JUNE 16 A SUCCESS!
Screening in East Wing Rotunda Marked a Nationwide First
Co-sponsored by VotePA, Common Cause / Pennsylvania, & the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania

Despite locally heavy thunderstorms and several other events in the area, our June 16 screening of UNCOUNTED in the East Rotunda of the Pennsylvania Capitol Building was a success. The crowd of people attending was a comfortable size for the space; enough to make the East Rotunda look nice and full. Legislators, Senators, and staff were coming and going from an event in the huge main Rotunda (an event that provided them free food, which unfortunately we could not afford to do) and quite a number of them stopped to watch awhile from the balcony or the sidelines. At least five have asked to borrow the DVD. And there was talk all over the Capitol about what was going on in the East Rotunda.

Co-sponsored by VotePA, the Common Cause Education Fund, and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, this screening of UNCOUNTED in our Pennsylvania Capitol marked the film's first-ever appearance in any legislative hall nationwide.

Pre-event story HERE

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Pennsylvania Primary Produces Problems
April difficulties point areas of concern for November
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA

With an unprecedented national spotlight shining on Pennsylvania's Presidential Primary, statewide reports of multiple election problems emerged on April 22. Incidents trended around several major issues including polling place problems, voting machine malfunctions, and most notably many complaints of voter registration errors and difficulties.    [MORE]

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Pennsylvania: State of Denial
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA
March 31, 2008
With the national spotlight on The Keystone State's April 22 Primary, many heads remain buried in sand when it comes to electronic voting.

Part 1 -

In March 2004, Governor Ed Rendell announced a new tourism slogan for Pennsylvania: "The State of Independence". But with Pennsylvania officials continuing along in what seems to be mindless oblivion to the dangers of paperless electronic voting machines, perhaps Pennsylvania's slogan should be "The State of Denial" when it comes to elections.

Following the inconclusive Ohio and Texas Democratic primaries earlier this month, the national spotlight turned swiftly to Pennsylvania's April 22 election as the next battleground. And in the glare of that white-hot national spotlight it is more apparent than ever that there is great risk for electoral disaster in The Keystone State.

With fifty-one of its most populous counties still voting on completely paperless Direct Record Electronic machines, Pennsylvania remains one of the last twelve states to have passed no law requiring every vote to be backed up with a voter-verified paper record or ballot.

Time and time again Pennsylvania has had to replace failed electronic voting machines, bailing out counties and vendors at taxpayer expense. Pennsylvania has been plagued with a rash of problems caused by failures of paperless, unverifiable voting machines. These problems ranged from extremely high levels of undervotes (indicating a large number of voters are not having their votes counted), to faulty programming and ballot preparation, to outright loss of votes due to machines being set up improperly on Election Day.

[MORE]

LACKAWANNA COUNTY CITIZENS EFFECT CHANGE IN COUNTY VOTING METHODS

March 5, 2008 ­ In a unanimous statement yesterday, the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners announced that it was dropping plans to purchase 600 touchscreen voting machines from Premier Voting Solutions, Inc. (Diebold) and moving ahead instead to buy precinct count optical scanners and accessible ballot markers from the ES&S corporation.

Diebold, Inc., the parent company of Premier informed the county that it could not agree to guarantee the contract if Premier became insolvent.

Local citizen groups including the Lackawanna County League of Women Voters, NEPA Mission Democracy, and members of VotePA urged the Commissioners to choose precinct count optical scanners and ballot markers when their county's previous touchscreen voting system was decertified for use by the state.

[MORE]

CITIZENS HELP FAYETTE COUNTY OBTAIN VOTER-MARKED & VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS

March 3, 2008 -- Citizens in Fayette County recently helped guide their County Commissioners to a choice of voter-marked and verified paper ballots with scanners rather than spending $170,000 to purchase more Direct Record Electronic (DRE) voting machines.

Concerned about long lines, the Fayette County Commissioners were considering the purchase of 55 more Hart / Intercivic eSlate DRE machines as additional equipment for the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary and the November General Election.

The eSlate does not offer a voter-marked or voter-verified paper trail in Pennsylvania. In addition, many Fayette voters, especially seniors, were unhappy with the machine's "dial-a-vote" interface.

Through the diligence of resident Delinda Young, other citizens in the County, and statewide members of VotePA, the Commissioners were informed of a paper ballot alternative. The eScan interfaces with software and equipment the county already owns and would allow the majority of voters to cast a paper ballot marked simply using a pencil.

[MORE]

LACKAWANNA COUNTY VOTERS
PROTEST CHOICE OF
DIEBOLD / PREMIER
PAPERLESS TOUCHSCREEN VOTING MACHINES

Scranton, February 20, 2008 -- A howling north wind and subfreezing temperature couldn't shut down Scranton's Operation Democracy as over a dozen citizens gathered this morning at the conrner Spruce and Adams to protest the County Commissioners' decision to purchase a combination of new and used ("refurbished") Diebold / Premier TSX touchscreen voting machines to replace the decertified AVS WINvote system originally chosen by the county under HAVA.

Read more from the Scranton Tomes-Tribune HERE and see the VIDEO on the page too!

Common Cause and Verified Voting Joint Report:
PENNSYLVANIA AT "HIGH RISK" FOR 2008 ELECTION PROBLEMS

January 30, 2008 ­ Common Cause and Verified Voting have issued a joint report "Voting At Risk 2008" which identifies Pennsylvania as a state at HIGH RISK for problems in our 2008 elections. Recommendations include voter-verified paper records, post election audits, emergency paper ballots, and passage of HR 5036.

READ THE REPORT HERE.

NORTHAMPTON UPDATE:
Used Sequoia Advantage Machines to be Purchased
with Pennsylvania Taxpayers' Dollars
Northampton County Makes An Incredibly Hasty Choice of Voting Machines

Friday, January 18, 2008 ­ Barely 48 hours after the last voting machine was packed up and removed from the courthouse following their Voting System Vendors Fair, Northampton County Council voted last evening to purchase 300 USED ("refurbished") Sequoia Advantage voting machines at a cost of $4550 each to replace their decertified AVS WINvote touchscreens in time for the April Primary.

According to an article in this morning's Allentown Morning Call, Council voted 7-1 in favor of the purchase, with Ron Angle opposed and Vice President Wayne Grube absent.

Ironically, the hasty decision came the same day that Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey introduced a bill in Congress that would provide federal funds to pay for the Noarthampton machines if a system employing a true voter-verified paper ballot had been chosen.

[MORE]

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY SHOWS A LOT OF VOTING MACHINES,
BUT NOT A LOT OF SENSE
Review of the Northampton County Voting System Vendor Fair
January 15, 2008
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA

Easton PA -- Voters, vendors, and voting machines jammed into a third floor meeting room in the Northampton County Courthouse in Easton this week, as Northampton, Lackawanna, and Wayne counties came together to view potential replacement voting systems for their now-decertified AVS WINvote touchscreen machines.

Assuming that no federal money becomes available, the purchase of mew machines by the three counties will be funded by the taxpayers of Pennsylvania in what amounts to a $4 million bailout of the original vendor.

After a closed-door morning session between officials and vendors that excluded the public, dozens of citizens and members of the press attended the afternoon demonstration.

With machines lined up and slick salesmen pushing hard during the demonstration time allotted to each of them, it was a scene reminiscent of the heady days back in 2005 and early 2006 when the Help America Vote Act had every county in the nation scrambling to buy whatever new or used "HAVA compliant" voting system vendors had available to promote.

But this time, citizens came armed with something new ­ the knowledge that in intensive tests recently commissioned by multiple Secretaries of State, computer scientists have proven electronic voting systems to be hopelessly insecure and unreliable. Many in the audience were well aware that only a combination of paper ballots and meaningful audits can provide any assurance at all that the will of the people is being followed in an election.

[MORE]

See Channel 69 WFMZ Report with VotePA Executive Director commenting.

(Washington, D.C. -- January 17, 2008) ­ Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today introduced the Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008, a plan to allow state and local jurisdictions to opt-in to receive reimbursements from the federal government if they convert to a paper ballot voting system, offer emergency paper ballots, and/or conduct audits by hand counts.

"While the House has not acted on our legislation to require paper ballots and audits for all votes in all states in time for 2008, there is still time to take action to protect the accuracy, integrity, and security of the 2008 general elections," Holt said. "This plan provides an incentive for state or localities that want to do the right thing."

[MORE]