BLIND AND DISABLED VOTER ADVOCATES, GROUPS CALL FOR 'IMMEDIATE BAN' ON DRE VOTING SYSTEMS!

[BradBlog]

<i>cross-posted to election reform topic: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x469199</i>

BLIND AND DISABLED VOTER ADVOCATES, GROUPS CALL FOR 'IMMEDIATE BAN' ON DRE VOTING SYSTEMS!
Two Different Statements from Civil Rights Leaders Call for Discontinuation of Insecure, Unverifiable, Disenfranchising DRE/Touch-Screen Voting Technology
Both Destroy Myth of Need to Sacrifice Verifed Ballots for Accessibility...

Supporters of Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, often known as touch-screen) voting system, and indeed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, have used the canard that blind and disabled voters must use DREs to vote privately and independently. Today, a number of leaders in the disabilities community are finally speaking out and calling for "an immediate ban" on such dangerous, unverifiable voting systems.

Two landmark statements, one released today to The BRAD BLOG in advance of Congressional hearings tomorrow, are covered in this report. Here snippets from each...

"Electronic ballot systems such as DRE machines, are neither fully accessible nor secure and accurate methods of recording, tallying, and reporting votes ... are inappropriate for use, because these systems make it impossible for voters to verify that their votes will be counted as cast."
-- From a statement released today by more than 20 Disabled Voter Advocates

"We must debunk the myth that we have to choose between accessible voting and verifiable voting. Democracy requires that we have both."
-- Stanley J. Eicher, Exec. Dir. of the Disability Law Center in recent statement commending MA for allowing non-DRE ballot marking devices for use by disabled voters.

FULL STORY, COMPLETE STATEMENT:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4270