-----Original Message-----
From: Geof Cahoon
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: None
Subject: Election Reforms
On behalf of our Election
Reform group, and other interested citizen groups, we would like to submit the
following criteria for the Committee's respectful consideration. I have
also attached a document explaining how these requirements were developed, along
with the Guidelines.
We feel it is important that the Committee look beyond technology choices to
basic principals and that elements of the older DataVote system proved far more
reliable, more secure and more citizen friendly than the Hart Intercivic system.
Requirements for the Voting Process
1. The
voting process should be conveniently available to every eligible voter
including, but not limited to, non-English speakers, workers with long and
irregular hours, visually impaired and other handicapped voters.
2. The voting process should be sufficiently
accurate that there is overwhelming confidence that any errors are so small
that the outcome of the election is not in doubt.
3. The voting process should generate an
unambiguous outcome. Ambiguity here is meant broadly and would include
the prohibition of parallel tallies of votes (e.g., paper and electronic), or
means of marking ballots that could be difficult to read, etc.
4. The voting process should be
simple, easy and non-confusing for all voters.
5. There should be a
universal, standardized voting process.
6. The process should be
capable of Instant Runoff Voting and other similar voting methods.
7. There should be a
transparent and robust chain-of-custody of the ballots from the start of voting
until all questions concerning the outcome of the election are finalized.
Transparency implies that the voter should directly mark a tangible ballot
(i.e., paper) with no intermediate electronics or other hidden technology and
the voting technology should never prohibit the voter from selecting any
choice.
8. Voters should be protected
from intimidation during voting.
9. Voter's privacy and the
secrecy of the voter's choices should be protected.
10. To the extent possible, without
violating any of the other requirements, the voting process should be as
convenient as is reasonably possible.
11. To the extent possible, without
violating any of the other requirements, the voting process should be as
inexpensive as is reasonably possible.
12. The voting process should
elicit the feeling of participation in the democratic process and the
generation of trust in fellow voters.
13. The voting technology should be
owned by the people, without encumbrance, and all details should be available
for public inspection, without constraint.
Respectfully submitted,
Geof Cahoon
**********************************
Geof Cahoon
Liaison for Boulder House Party
Boulder MoveOn
1420 Elder Ave.
Boulder CO 80304
(303) 443-1488
V2.2 Requirement for the Voting Process.doc