Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org
According to a January 3 article on VoteTrustUSA, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron delayed the purchase of 800 Sequoia Edge touch screen voting machines that some New Mexico counties had chosen to meet federal accessibility requirements.
On January 5 Voter Action amplified and corrected the statements of the Secretary. In their press release, Voter Action said:
NOTE: There is presently NO Sequoia voting system that meets the presently in force voting systems standards. The best that Sequoia can do is to meet standards that are 15 years old. Today this reporter called the Election Assistance Commission and I was told that Sequoia has nothing close to federal qualification at this time. This means that counties who have purchased their voting machines on the promise of being compliant by January 1, 2006 cannot meet the Help America Vote Act of 2002 accessibility mandates.
Man! Finally some states are coming to their senses.
I can’t believe that people on either side of the spectrum wouldn’t want a paper backup. Because even if your team wins one election, you sure as hell could have the tables turned on you.
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Great news – The ball is starting to roll!
Dominoes are falling. Isn’t it wonderful!
Did the SOS bother to explain why the decision to purchase those voting machines was even made? Could she be so ignorant of the state laws governing what is acceptable in regards of the machines? If she did know, and still approved the purchase, what consequences will she be facing, if any? Ignorance is not always bliss.
Roger Drowne EC #2
Your previous posts have been deleted because of the spam content.
If you want to advertise, contact Brad and put an ad in one of the valid ad spots. Its the decent thing to do.
Then come blog the issues with us. Please.
Cyra Brown #5
Good point. We can assume election officials are there because they know the election laws that apply to their endeavors.
If there is a fair chance the machines are non compliant, then waiting for court decisions is they only appropriate course.
As a Precinct Judge in many an election in New Mexico I can say I always had a major apprehension about the touch screen machines and vote tabulating. The paper ballot and optical scan in combination is the only way we can have a trail as to the exact vote by the voter.
Please keep up the pressure.
Stephen #7
We will keep up the pressure.
It is for the good of all of us that we have systems that make us all confident.
I, too, worked and will work NM elections and I am so glad that this backward state has amended a poor decision. In 2004 election a machine jammed, after polling, and was taken downtown for fixing. Was the vote counted correctly?
Who knows with no paper trail.. How long will the old ones still be used? For fall’s election?! NOOO!!
I too live in what you rfere to as a "backward state" New Mexico is rural, but no more backward than anywhere else in the good ole US. At least we are addressing the problem. A San Miguel County judge threw out the AG’s summary judgement to dismiss the case against here. She will be held responsible for her poor judgement and we won’t be using the Sequoia’s after May of this year it looks like.