A bipartisan bill requiring paper trails for electronic voting machines just cleared a major hurdle and could be taken up by the House of Representatives next week. Defend your right to vote and support H.R. 811, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007.
E-voting machines have wreaked havoc and undermined confidence in our election system. Despite demonstrated technical failures -- including the loss of thousands of votes -- nearly half of all states still do not require a voter-verified paper ballot. Most of the voting machines in operation today haven't been sufficiently reviewed for security, and pollworkers frequently do not receive adequate training to deal with machine problems.
Along with requiring machines to produce a voter-verified paper ballot, H.R. 811 mandates random audits, the mandatory availability of voting machine computer code for review by experts and litigants, and many other critical reforms. The House Administration Committee passed the bill last week and approved amendments that further improve it, including a requirement that voters be allowed to use paper ballots upon request and a more robust ban on connecting voting equipment to the Internet.
For over three years, EFF has been helping Rep. Rush Holt move this legislation forward, and support from individuals like you has been crucial in garnering an astounding 215 cosponsors. Hundreds of activists joined EFF for Washington, D.C. lobby days in 2005 and 2006, and thousands of letters have poured in to Congress.
Now those efforts are paying off, and victory in the House is within reach -- take action now and fight for fair, transparent elections.