Texas Action Laert...Meeting in Austin 2/28

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Texans -- We're forwarding this action alert from EFF. Please pass it on.
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Join EFF at the E-voting Open Forum on Monday, February 28

It used to be that Texas voting examiners kept the public out of meetings to decide which e-voting systems the state will use. Now, thanks to a legal challenge by the ACLU and EFF, a Texas court has ruled that the meetings should be open to the public as required by the Texas Open Meetings Act. As a result of this victory, Texas will hold its first-ever open public meeting to discuss proposed voting systems:

What: First-ever open meeting of the Texas Election System Examiners
When: Monday morning, February 28, 8:30am - noon
Where: 2nd floor conference room, Rusk Building (208 E. 10th St., Austin)
Why: Your chance to ask questions of the vendors and examiners.

This is your opportunity to ask specific, constructive questions about voting systems by three different vendors that the examiners are considering: Diebold, ES&S, and AccuPoll. The AccuPoll system includes a ballot printer, and if it's certified in Texas, it will be the first "voter-verifiable paper ballot" electronic voting system available in Texas. This would be an enormous victory for voting transparency, integrity, and accountability in Texas, so it's critically important to keep your comments focused and relevant.

EFF's Matt Zimmerman and Rice University professor and e-voting expert Dan Wallach are holding a meeting on Sunday, February 27, to prepare people for the open forum. If you're planning to attend the forum, we encourage you to go to the preparatory meeting beforehand. For details and directions, RSVP to Dan Wallach at [e-mail]

This is a critical meeting for ensuring that every Texas vote counts - don't forget to pass the word along!

Details about the ACLU/EFF court victory giving you the right to attend: <http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_01.php#002240>

Ellen Theisen
www.VotersUnite.Org