Lobbying the State Conventions Today
Hundreds of flyers were passed out today at the state conventions of Iowa’s biggest political parties. (Wasn’t it convenient that they met simultaneously only a few blocks apart!!) The flyers were from Iowans for Voting Integrity (IVI) and they mentioned this website at the very, very bottom. So maybe there’s even a new reader in the audience as a result.
The response was overwhelmingly receptive to the flyer’s message about the lack of security in paperless voting. One computer programmer said that it’s a no-brainer. But one–only one–delegate declared that she liked voting on the touchscreen toy and she was not interested in what computer scientists and programmers have to say when they warn against this folly.
Senator Harkin even brought up the issue in his speech to the Democratic convention. He condemned paperless voting, getting a rousing cheer. But he made a glitch of his own by saying voters should get TWO paper trails–one to deposit in the ballot box and one to take on home. A Harkin aide later acknowledged that such carry-out ballots were inadvisable. He said Harkin had been speaking off the cuff.
Five members of IVI pressed the Dem candidate for Secretary of State on the matter during a lengthy stand-up meeting in the lobby during the noon recess. Mauro is an aggressive conversationalist but he had nothing on the women from IVI, who bore down with point after point and several questions for Mauro, currently the election chief for Iowa’s largest county.
Mauro’s heart is in the right place on this issue. He stayed away from paperless voting machines and expresses amazement that any county would take the risk. But he does not give me the impression that he is studying this problem or keeping up with the news. There has been quite a bit of news since he became a candidate last summer. This issue demands some study from a would be Secretary of State, as any of the activists can attest. They are studying and they want the officials and the candidates to get up to speed, too. Maybe they motivated Mauro today.
June 18th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
I was impressed at the convention while a huddle of activists discussed this issue with Mauro during the lunch break. It shows selfless dedication to put off a hungry belly to address such an important issue for voters. Thanks!