San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation is redistributing a press release from Verified Voting Foundation announcing the release of several key resources for voters in e-voting "hotspots."
Voters Guides include step-by-step instructions for voting on the most commonly used electronic voting machines. There are also maps detailing what voting equipment is being used at polling places nationwide.
The Election Incident Reporting System (EIRS) allows voters, media, and others to keep abreast of election incidents nationwide that are being reported to the nonpartisan Election Protection network hotline at 1-866-OUR VOTE.
EFF is working with Verified Voting to lead a team of technology attorneys who will be available to respond to problems with electronic voting machines nationwide as part of the National Election Protection Coalition.
Here is the press release:
Verified Voting Foundation Media Advisory
For Immediate Release: Friday, October 22, 2004
Contact:
Will Doherty
Executive Director
Verified Voting Foundation
press@verifiedvoting.org
+1 415 695-0543 (office), +1 415 425-3936 (cell)
Pamela Smith
Nationwide Coordinator
Verified Voting Foundation
pam@verifiedvoting.org
+1 760-613-0172 (cell)
Election Resources for Voters Concerned About E-voting Problems
Verified Voting Foundation Publishes Technology Maps, Guides
San Francisco - Gearing up for early voting and Election Day, the Verified Voting Foundation (VVF) today published guides to assist voters in casting votes successfully when they face new voting technologies at the polls.
Available in print and online versions, VVF's "Voters' Guide to Electronic Voting" provides voters with easy-to-read information about the voting machines used in their local polling places and pointers about how to prevent voting technology problems and vote successfully.
"We've pulled together in one convenient place a bunch of information that was theoretically available to voters, but really hard to come by," said VVF Executive Director Will Doherty.
"We're doing what we can to let the public know about the problems with and alternatives to paperless e-voting," commented VVF Nationwide Coordinator Pamela Smith.
Voters and voter protection organizations may request free printed copies of the "Voters' Guide."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Global Exchange Fair Election Project, and America's Families United Voter Protection Project assisted in preparing profiles of the most commonly used e-voting machines.
A companion volume to the "Voters' Guide," called the "Poll Monitors' & Poll Workers' Guide to Electronic Voting," will provide more detailed information specifically for poll monitors, poll workers, election officials, and other interested persons who are assisting voters.
VVF also has prepared the Verifier, a web-based tool that provides drill-down maps permitting voters to find the voting technology used where they vote, as well as contact information for election officials, absentee, and early voting availability, and much more. Some of this information, previously only available commercially, came courtesy of Electionline.org, while the rest resulted from the efforts of dozens of volunteers. VVF welcomes input on missing and incorrect information and will soon offer a free download capability for all the public data contained in the maps.
All these resources complement the Election Incident Reporting System (EIRS), a web-based incident tracking tool prepared by VVF and the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR). Members of organizations in the 60+-member Election Protection Coalition are entering calls received by the toll-free Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1 866-687-8683). Trained attorneys and technologists respond rapidly to resolve incident reports and make sure voters can vote and have their votes counted as intended.
Voters' Guide to Electronic Voting
Poll Monitors' & Poll Workers' Guide to Electronic Voting (coming soon)
Election Officials Contact Information Map
Election Incident Reporting System Incident Map
Election Incident Reporting System Overview
TechWatch technologists provide tech support for voter protection
Electronic Frontier Foundation E-voting Activism page
Global Exchange Fair Election Project
