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كريستي سيتزر، نيو هايتس كوميونيكيشنز، christy@newheightscommunications.com، (202) 724-6380

ماري بويل، مؤسسة القضية المشتركة، mboyle@commoncause.org، (202) 736-5770

Report says there’s still time to make needed changes by Nov. 6

WASHINGTON – In what could be the most fiercely-contested election in U.S. history, Virginia officials may not be fully prepared to verify the accuracy of their vote counting, a new, national voting study suggests.

The report, “Counting Votes 2012: A State by State Look at Voting Technology Preparedness,” faults the state’s partial reliance on paperless voting systems; without a paper record of each vote, a proper post-election audit of the returns is impossible, it says. Although Virginia is no longer purchasing new paperless voting machines, many jurisdictions in the Commonwealth still use such systems.

In “swing” states like Virginia, where neither presidential candidate is expected to roll up a substantial majority, even a small error in vote counting that alters just a few votes could be decisive.

“High-profile elections in the past decade have been decided by razor thin margins,” the report notes. “The 2000 presidential race was decided by 537 votes in Florida; the Washington State gubernatorial race in 2004 by 129 votes, and a Minnesota Senate race in 2008 by just 312. Every national election sees voting system failures stem from machines that won’t start, memory cards that can’t be read, mis-tallied votes, lost votes and more. Under the U.S. Constitution and every state constitution, as well as by statute throughout the country, every vote must be counted as cast.”

The report emphasizes that some state election officials still have time before the election to make changes that would protect the integrity of the vote. The study was released Wednesday by three non-partisan organizations focused on voting – the Verified Voting Foundation, the Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic, and Common Cause.

“We recognize Virginia is moving toward auditable systems in the coming period, and commend the state for piloting post-election audits in a recent study. We hope they will rigorously apply their contingency plans, which rated ‘good’,” said Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting. “No election system is perfect, and ensuring fair, accurate elections is a national effort. Our elections are complex – we have so many jurisdictions and varying technologies. Everyone from election officials to citizens should be involved to make sure this process at the very heart of our democracy is healthy.”

The report noted that voting systems routinely fail. In 2008 – the last presidential election year – more than 1,800 problems were reported nationally.

“If history is any indication, machines in November will fail, and votes will be lost,” said Susannah Goodman of Common Cause. “Backup systems like paper ballots need to be put in place in every state to help to verify results.”

The report places said Virginia “needs improvement” in examining its performance in each of five areas:

هل تشترط الدولة بطاقات اقتراع ورقية أو سجلات لكل صوت مُدلى به؟ (في حال تسبب أعطال الكمبيوتر أو الأخطاء البشرية في أخطاء في فرز الأصوات، يمكن لمسؤولي الانتخابات استخدام بطاقات الاقتراع الأصلية لتحديد الإجماليات الصحيحة. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، يمكن استخدام بطاقات الاقتراع الورقية لتدقيق فرز الأصوات الآلي).

- هل لدى الدولة خطط طوارئ كافية في كل مركز اقتراع في حالة تعطل الأجهزة؟

- هل تحمي الدولة الناخبين العسكريين والأجانب وبطاقات الاقتراع الخاصة بهم من التغيير والتلاعب وانتهاكات الخصوصية من خلال ضمان عدم الإدلاء ببطاقات الاقتراع المميزة عبر الإنترنت؟

- هل قامت الدولة بإجراء تدقيق ما بعد الانتخابات لتحديد ما إذا كانت النتائج المبلغ عنها إلكترونيًا صحيحة؟

- هل تستخدم الدولة ممارسات قوية لمطابقة الأصوات وتصنيفها للمساعدة في ضمان عدم فقدان أي بطاقات اقتراع أو إضافتها أثناء فرز الأصوات وتجميعها من المستوى المحلي إلى مستوى الولاية؟

The highest rated states overall were Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin, while South Carolina, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi — were ranked near the bottom.

قالت بيني فينيتيس، المديرة المشاركة لعيادة التقاضي الدستوري بكلية الحقوق بجامعة روتجرز: "لا ينبغي أن يُفقد أي صوت في انتخابات عام ٢٠١٢. فالتكنولوجيا متوفرة للتحقق من الأصوات، ويمكن تطبيق إجراءات في جميع أنحاء البلاد لضمان احتساب كل صوت، تمامًا كما ينص الدستور".