Hillary requests we sign petition supporting her new election reform bill

[Amaryllis]

This email (below) came today from Hillary, asking for people to sign a petition in support of her new bill, the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer. It looks woefully inadaquate as far as the whole e-voting issue; however, she refers to similar legislation she introduced in 2004.

This was the Graham-Clinton bill, S 2213, which was a companion to HB 2239, the Holt bill. Boxer was a co-sponsor on S 2213 also. S 2213 did have some excellent requirements for e-voting. I am going to assume, and hope I am right, that the new bill will also include something more than the three items that Hillary lists in the email along with her request to sign the petition. Below I have included the relevant sections of S 2213, and below that is the email with a link to the petition.

As with the Holt bill, S 2213 never even got a hearing.

Here is the text of S 2213:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query

And here is the section that prohibits undisclosed software and wireless communication:


`(9) PROHIBITION OF USE OF UNDISCLOSED SOFTWARE IN VOTING SYSTEMS- No voting system shall at any time contain or use any undisclosed software. Any voting system containing or using software shall disclose the source code, object code, and executable representation of that software to the Commission, and the Commission shall make that source code, object code, and executable representation available for inspection upon request to any citizen.

`(10) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES IN VOTING SYSTEMS- No voting system shall use any wireless communication device.

`(11) CERTIFICATION OF SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE- All software and hardware used in any electronic voting system shall be certified by laboratories accredited by the Commission as meeting the requirements of paragraphs (9) and (10).

`(12) SECURITY STANDARDS FOR MANUFACTURERS OF VOTING SYSTEMS USED IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- No voting system may be used in an election for Federal office unless the manufacturer of such system meets the requirements described in subparagraph (B).

`(B) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED- The requirements described in this subparagraph are as follows:

`(i) The manufacturer shall document the chain of custody for the handling of software used in connection with voting systems.

`(ii) The manufacturer shall ensure that any software used in connection with the voting system is not transferred over the Internet.

`(iii) In the same manner and to the same extent described in paragraph (9), the manufacturer shall provide the codes used in any software used in connection with the voting system to the Commission and may not alter such codes once certification has occurred unless such system is recertified.

`(iv) The manufacturer shall implement procedures to ensure internal security, as required by the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

`(v) The manufacturer shall meet such other requirements as may be established by the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.'.


Email from HIllary with request to sign petition:

It's time to tell those who celebrate elections and voter participation in countries around the world that we must make sure every vote is counted in elections right here at home!

That's why I am asking you to sign on now as a citizen co-sponsor of vitally important election reform legislation.

http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote

Next week, I will introduce the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer. This comprehensive election reform bill will:

Provide a verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic voting machines. Set a uniform standard for provisional ballots, so that every qualified voter within the state will know their votes are treated equally and will be counted.

Require the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and election personnel in every community. It's outrageous that some people in predominantly minority communities had to wait up to 10 hours to vote, while people in other communities often voted in minutes!

In 2004, I introduced legislation similar to the Count Every Vote Act. But it never saw the light of day. I couldn't even get a hearing for my bill before the Senate Rules Committee. We can't allow this new legislation to suffer the same fate.

The Republicans who control Congress don't want to address this issue. So we've got to build grassroots momentum to make sure they don't have any choice but to act. That's why I am determined to keep moving forward -- on the Hill, with advocacy groups, and with all of you!

http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote

Will you join me in calling for action to Count Every Vote? Will you sign up to become a citizen co-sponsor of this bill, so that we can demonstrate that the American people won't sit still for inaction on legislation so essential to our freedom?

Please forward this e-mail to your friends, and ask them to join us.
Together, we will restore the credibility of American democracy, and make sure that we count every vote.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

P. S. I thank you for all you have done to build a stronger Democratic
Party. Now, as we say goodbye to the outstanding leadership of my friend Terry McAuliffe, I look forward to working with Governor Howard Dean and the new DNC leadership. Let's make sure that our hard work counts on Election Day!