Well, will wonders never cease. Here's a link to today's Washington Post editorial favoring VVPB in Maryland and all other states:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082201236.html?referrer=email&referrer=emailHere's the opening and closing paragraphs:
"THANKS TO Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s (note: a Repug) curious and continuing blind faith in certifiably untrustworthy voting machines, voters in the state will never know whether their election choices were recorded correctly last year or what to believe when the "results" of key state elections are rolled out next year. Computer experts across the country -- and most notably in the governor's back yard, at Johns Hopkins University -- have warned repeatedly that although the touch-screen machines in use in Maryland can, at their best, be as accurate as they are efficient, no one can know for sure, because they are not equipped to produce paper trails showing each vote cast....
"Maryland should join the states that insist on this fundamental protection. The state legislature did vote this year for an official review of electronic systems, but Mr. Ehrlich would not buy even this weak move; he vetoed the bill. The dawdling has gone on far too long. It may be too late to put paper-trail equipment in place for 2006, but the new center does plan to issue information and recommendations in time for the 2008 elections. In Maryland, as everywhere, the integrity of the voting process demands the best possible safeguards."
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Congratulations to the Maryland voting rights activists who are working to make this happen. Please kick, recommend and comment.