PA: Resolution to Bring Back Lever Voting Machines in House State Government Committee

[Wilms]

BACK TO THE FUTURE. State Rep. James Casorio, a North Huntingdon Democrat, apparently longs for the old days -- at least where voting is concerned.

Casorio has introduced legislation in the state House of Representatives calling on Congress to allow Pennsylvania counties to return to the use of mechanical lever voting machines. He said electronic machines -- particularly ones that do not produce a record of individual votes -- are especially susceptible to failure and fraud.

"There is a reason that lever machines have been the preferred method of counting votes in this country since the 1920s," Casorio said. "They were widely seen to have fixed the problem of vote fraud, which was rampant in the 1800s. They are still the most simple, transparent, accurate and intuitive method of voting."

Casorio's resolution is now in the House State Government Committee.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_636253.html

'Hood' Tallied

[MissWaverly]

1. let's bring back the old machines at least there's a paper trail

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. well said

[Bill Bored]

3. I want my voting method to be as complex, nontransparent, inaccurate and unintuitive as possible. nt

[Bill Bored]

4. Rep Brady of PA Chairs the Committee on House Admiinitration

He will likely be participating in this year's sacrificial slaying of the Holt bill (a perennial event on Capitol Hill).

Perhaps he can be convinced to support amending HAVA to unambiguously grandfather lever voting machines instead, in much the same way as HAVA grandfathered HCPBs.

I think the activist types in PA would jump at the chance for levers to replace DREs, esp. those without the usual uncounted paper trails that their State won't allow anyway. At least I HOPE they would.

It's largely because PA asked the EAC to write a bogus opinion that said HAVA bans levers that we are in this mess to begin with.

[demodonkey]

5. Oh for Pete's sake, calm down people. Jim Casorio's MY REP and this is going nowhere.

Jim proposed this resolution MONTHS ago. I went to his office in Harrisburg right after he introduced it and his staff was rather crestfallen to learn that all our lever machines were smashed to smithereens for scrap several years ago. There can be no going back.

So please know that this resolution is going absolutely nowhere, especially with the bad budget mess the state is in right now.

At least Jim heard us and "got it" about the paperless iVotronics we are voting on.

We'll work with Jim and others on getting better state legislation once the budget smoke clears in Harrisburg. But our state is in such financial trouble, without federal money I see little chance of anything changing here in the foreseeable future.

So in the meantime I SUPPORT HR2894, as do a lot of Pennsylvanians.

[Wilms]

6. Savor the moment!

Are ALL the machine smithereenified?

I wonder what it would cost to build one given two companies are around to potentially do that.

[demodonkey]

7. They are ALL GONE. Scraperoonie.

Whatever it would cost for someone to start up remaking them, Pennsylvania won't be buying.

Absent federal money Pennsylvania's not going to be buying anything for a long time... http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090802_ap_stalledpabudgetnocloserafter2hourtalks.html

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

10. this would be opportune time to lobby for HCPB which would solve many of 2008 problems

wouldn't it be nice if PA went for the budget saving method of HCPB

There's ample reason:

not enough voting machines in primary or GE in 2008, disenfranchising voters
many voting machines broken, disenfranchising voters.

The counties cant afford to purchase new machines, so how will they address next big
election?

In this case, PA could be ripe for pushing HCPB.

Because its so fracking bad there and there's no money to buy even more of the
Devilish Record Machines (thankfully).

[Wilms]

11. There will bePLENTY of money to buy electronic voting equipment if the Holt bill passes.

I'm not sure it HAS a chance of passing, but some people have dedicated themselves to it, regardless of other states' requirements.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. a possible strategy

Alot of folks in PA want paper. I also see a trend where election offices can't afford to run
elections anymore.

Prime opportunity for HCPB.

They weren't able to pass state legislation before the HAVA funds were spent,
they have some fierce anti paper "experts" like Michael Shamos,
their county BoEs in many cases are anti paper.

If they have scrapped their levers, this may be an opportunity to argue voters rights
and ask for HCPB in as many places as possible.

This would ensure that no one faces "denial of service", something that has been a problem in PA.

Some people seem to think Holt will pass, maybe they are right, but it doesn't pay to pin your
hopes on it.

[Wilms]

13. Of course.

Any election economically lending itself to that notion would be a primary target.

(As long as the ballot box meets kster's specifications, that is.)

[tomm2thumbs]

8. egad, if the lottery can have ticket machines at every drug store, with a paper trail, you'd

think they could hire the same team to do voting machines. Too much politics in Diebold and their cronies - time to think different about how this works.

Plus you could scan your vote-ticket and show your vote WAS counted

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. Excellent point.

but once you cast your vote, there's no way to check it against an account, because it is a secret ballot that cannot or should not be tied to the voter.