Makipag-ugnayan:

Christy Setzer, New Heights Communications, christy@newheightscommunications.com, (202) 724-6380

Mary Boyle, Common Cause, mboyle@commoncause.org, (202) 736-5770

Sinasabi ng ulat na may oras pa para gumawa ng mga kinakailangang pagbabago bago ang Nob. 6

WASHINGTON – In what could be the most fiercely-contested election in U.S. history, Ohio officials are well-prepared to deal with voting machine malfunctions and breakdowns but could beef up their procedures for ballot accounting and reconciliation, a new, national voting study suggests.

The report, “Counting Votes 2012: A State by State Look at Voting Technology Preparedness,” puts Ohio in the top tier of states on its overall readiness to run an efficient election and report votes accurately.

The report notes that in Ohio and other “swing” states, where neither presidential candidate is expected to roll up a substantial majority, strong procedures for auditing are critical because even a small error in vote counting 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 state election officials still have time before the election to make some kinds of 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.

“Ohio’s audit provision is improved – though is still not codified into law. A requirement in statute for audits would net the Buckeye State an even higher grade, but we’re appreciative of its efforts to strengthen this practice for the upcoming election,” 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.”

Nabanggit ng ulat na ang mga sistema ng pagboto ay karaniwang nabigo. Noong 2008 - ang huling taon ng halalan sa pagkapangulo - higit sa 1,800 mga problema ang naiulat sa buong bansa.

"Kung ang kasaysayan ay anumang indikasyon, ang mga makina ngayong Nobyembre ay mabibigo sa US at ang mga boto ay mawawala," sabi ni Susannah Goodman ng Common Cause. "Ang mga backup na sistema tulad ng mga papel na balota ay kailangang ilagay sa bawat estado upang makatulong na i-verify ang mga resulta."

The report places rates Ohio as “good” in comparing its voting and vote-counting practices to those of other states and examining its performance in each of five areas:

– Ang estado ba ay nangangailangan ng mga papel na balota o mga talaan ng bawat boto? (Kapag ang mga pagkabigo sa computer o mga pagkakamali ng tao ay nagdudulot ng maling pagbibilang ng makina, maaaring gamitin ng mga opisyal ng halalan ang orihinal na mga balota upang matukoy ang mga tamang kabuuan. Bukod pa rito, ang mga papel na balota ay maaaring gamitin sa pag-audit ng mga bilang ng makina.)

– Ang estado ba ay may sapat na contingency plan sa bawat lugar ng botohan kung sakaling mabigo ang makina?

– Pinoprotektahan ba ng estado ang mga botante sa militar at sa ibang bansa at ang kanilang mga balota mula sa pagbabago, pagmamanipula at mga paglabag sa privacy sa pamamagitan ng pagtiyak na ang mga minarkahang balota ay hindi naipapalabas online?

– Nagsimula ba ang estado ng pag-audit pagkatapos ng halalan upang matukoy kung tama ang mga resultang iniulat sa elektronikong paraan?

– Gumagamit ba ang estado ng matibay na pagkakasundo sa balota at mga gawi sa tabulation upang makatulong na matiyak na walang mawawala o idinagdag na mga balota habang ang mga boto ay binibilang at pinagsama-sama mula sa lokal hanggang sa antas ng estado?

Other top-rated states overall were Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont and Wisconsin, while South Carolina, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi — were ranked near the bottom.

"Walang boto ang dapat mawala sa 2012," sabi ni Penny Venetis, co-director ng Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic. "Umiiral ang teknolohiya upang i-verify ang mga boto, at maaaring magkaroon ng mga pamamaraan sa buong bansa upang matiyak na ang bawat boto ay binibilang bilang cast, tulad ng hinihingi ng konstitusyon."