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ELECTION DEFENSE ALLIANCE ACTION ALERT:

Halt Holt! Warn Congress to Block HR 811!
H.R. 811: A Clear and Present Danger to Democracy!

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DO YOU WANT:

• Federal legislation that requires computerized voting in every precinct?
• Voting machines capable of tracking your votes in a government database?
• Four White House appointees controlling the nation’s election systems?
• Unfunded mandates and impossible technology timelines that will throw U.S. elections into chaos?

We’d ALL like to think that Rush Holt's bill H.R. 811, the “The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act” is a good thing. But just like “The Patriot Act,” “No Child Left Behind,” and the “The Healthy Forests Act,” the name doesn't match the reality.

IF IT’S SO BAD

then why have some big names “signed on” to support H.R. 811?
Well-intentioned groups (such as MoveOn and PFAW)--even a small number of voting activist groups--
have been fooled by the PR spin on the Holt Bill (H.R. 811).

H.R. 811 is being sold as “Banning Paperless Voting,”
but here’s what's hidden in the fine print:

HR 811 ACTUALLY REQUIRES MORE COMPUTERIZED VOTING!

The Holt Bill opens the back door to REQUIRING computers in every polling place,
mandating a new generation of unnecessary, unproven computerized voting technology,
adding more secret software to our elections,
and sending at least another $4 BILLION of our taxpayer money to the electronic voting industry
 -and-

H.R. 811 EMPOWERS THE PRESIDENCY TO CONTROL THE NATION’S VOTING SYSTEMS!

HR 811 gives permanent  CONTROL over THE NATION'S VOTING EQUIPMENT to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) -- FOUR WHITE HOUSE APPOINTEES!

TO TAKE QUICK ACTION, CLICK THIS LINK:

http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/Halt811

Click Link Above > See Model Letter > Copy > Paste > Personalize > Print > FAX, Phone, and E-mail to Congress

FAX at least three House Administration Committee Members
FAX your own House Representatives
FAX your Secretary of State

All Contact Information Provided at EDA Halt811 Action Page

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO:

Join the Election Defense Alliance mailing list!
Click this Link to Subscribe to the EDA E-Mail Network

Help Spread the Word

Click this Link to Invite Friends to Subscribe for Election Defense Alliance alerts like this one.

LEARN MORE:

For more details on what is DEAD WRONG with HR 811, click here for the EDA 811 Resource Page

http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/hr_811_the_holt_ii_bill_to_amend_hava

For a one-page fact sheet on the dangers of EAC centralized control of federal elections, download
http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/files/WhyTheEACMustBeAbolished.pdf

Our Faxes and E-mails Stopped the Fast Track Mark-up. Now let’s Stop the Bill!

FAX Congress NOW and tell them NO! to HR 811!

American democracy depends on every ONE of us and YOU.
Tell our elected representatives that we DO NOT WANT H.R. 811 because we DO WANT meaningful election reform.
True Election Reform Would Preserve and Protect, Not Threaten Our Democratic Traditions!

• Citizen oversight of all electoral processes
• Public ownership of any voting system
• State sovereignty in conducting elections
• Realistic timelines, sound fiscal policy, and ethics in election administration

It’s not too late to get it RIGHT…IF WE ACT TODAY.

TO TAKE QUICK ACTION,

Click These Links:
Subscribe!
Forward Widely!
Now Tell Congress NO on H.R. 811!

This flyer can be downloaded and copied from: http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/EDA_811_email_alert

EDA 811 Alert

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 Quick Links

• EDA Halt 811 Action
• PEN Letter Generator
• Forward This Alert
• EDA 811 Resources

We'd all like to think that Rush Holt's H.R. 811 bill, The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, is a good thing.
But just like No Child Left Behind, The Healthy Forests Act, and The Patriot Act, the name doesn't match the reality.

Well-intentioned groups such as MoveOn and
PFAW--and even some voting activist groups--have been taken in by the Holt "Voter Confidence" spin. They assure
us that H.R. 811 will "Ban Paperless Voting," but here's what's hidden in the fine print:

H.R. 811 Actually Requires More
Computerized Voting!
The Holt bill opens a back door to permanent electronic voting in every polling place in America, by mandating a new generation of unnecessary, unproven computerized voting technology, adding more secret software to our elections, and sending at least another $4 billion in taxpayer money to the electronic voting industry.--and--

H.R. 811 Consolidates Executive Control
of Elections
H.R. 811 gives permanent control over the nation's voting equipment to the Election
Assistance Commission (EAC) -- four White House appointees!

TAKE QUICK ACTION
	FAX the House Committee on Administration FAX your own House Representative FAX your Secretary of State CLICK and PICK UP at the Halt 811 Action Page: PEN Tool to Write Press and Congress Model Letter and Talking Points Provided Downloadable Factsheets E-mail, Phone, and FAX for Congress For more on what's DEAD WRONG with H.R. 811, see EDA 811 Resource Page Thirteen Significant Problems in H.R. 811 by Nancy Tobi HR 811: Ten Blunders in A Deceptive Boondoggle by Bruce O'Dell Critical Annotation of H.R. 811 by Bev Harris and More

SUBSCRIBE! SPREAD WORD! ACT!

Join the Election Defense Alliance Mail List

Send a Subscription Invitation

Now Write, Phone, FAX Congress!

PEN a Letter to Congress and Press

To the Honorable:

I write in opposition to the Holt Bill, H.R.
811, which promises "increased voter
confidence" but actually perpetuates secret
vote-counting by computers while handing
centralized control of federal elections to
four White House appointees.

Because it requires a computerized text
conversion device in every polling place,
H.R. 811 would actually require electronic
voting machines, effectively ruling out
noncomputerized voting methods such as
handcounted paper ballots.

For the same reason H.R. 811 would also rule
out noncomputerized voter assistive devices
that provide better accessiblity features at
far less cost, while avoiding the
unacceptable risks of secret, computerized
vote-counting.

This unnecessary, unproven, as-yet
nonexistent text converter device that H.R.
811 requires is a gift to the E-voting
industry and an under-funded federal mandate
that will impose huge cost burdens on the
states.
.
. . read more . . .
Then PEN Your Letter to Congress, the Press, and Friends--All at Once!

State, County Election Officials Oppose H.R. 811

The nation's election administrators are
rising to resist Holt. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) issued a
joint statement opposing H.R. 811 and the Senate companion bill, S. 559.
"This legislation would exacerbate, rather than assist states and counties in addressing these challenges which could lead to disastrous unintended consequences in the 2008 presidential election."

Election Defense Alliance is a sponsored project of International Humanities Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

info@electiondefensealliance.org http://electiondefensealliance.org

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Fax This Prescription for Election Protection

On this page: TWO downloadable graphics to print, then FAX

(Scroll down)

1. Verifygra election prescription

2. Who do YOU want controlling US elections?

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To download a PDF of this graphic to FAX, click here

Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Fax: (202) 225-3336

To download a PDF of this graphic to FAX, click here

Attachment	Size
Verifygra_FAX_zl.jpg	100.92 KB
Cronies_272kb.pdf	271.02 KB

Fax, Phone, and E-mail Contacts

How to Contact Your Congressional Representative:

U.S. House "Write Your Representative" guide to mail, E-mail and E-mail Webform communications

U.S. House of Representatives Telephone directory

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How to Contact Your Secretary of State:

http://www.statelocalgov.net/50states-secretary-state.cfm

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Members of the Committee on House Administration

[* Use the E-mail webform if you find that the standard E-mail address (clickable in the Representative's name) returns a delivery failure message.]

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Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA 16th) Chair, Elections Subcommittee
Phone: (202) 225-3072
Fax: (202) 225-3336

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Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI 3rd) RANKING MEMBER
Phone: (202) 225-3831
Fax: (202) 225-5144
E-mail Webform: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Submit this State and zip code on the webform to gain access: MI 49503-2313

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Representative Susan A. Davis (D-CA 53rd)
Phone: (202) 225-2040
Fax: (202) 225-2948
E-mail Webform: http://www.house.gov/susandavis/IMA/contact.html

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Representative Dan Lungren (R-CA 3rd)
Phone: (202) 225-5716
Fax: (202) 226-1298
E-mail Webform: http://lungren.house.gov/feedback.shtml

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Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA 22nd)
Phone: (202) 225-2915
Fax: (202) 225-2908
E-mail Webform: http://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/contact.html

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Representative Michael Capuano (D-MA 8th)
Phone: (202) 225-5111
Fax: (202) 225-9322
E-mail Webform: http://www.house.gov/capuano/contact/email.shtml

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Representative Robert A. Brady (D-PA 1st)
Phone: (202) 225-4731
Fax: (202) 225-0088
E-mail Webform: http://www.house.gov/robertbrady/IMA/issue.htm>

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Representative Charles A. Gonzalez (D-TX 20th)
Phone: (202) 225-3236
Fax: (202) 225-1915
E-mail Webform: http://gonzalez.house.gov/feedback.cfm?campaign=gonzalez&type=Contact%20Me

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Full Committee Members:

Democrats	Republicans
Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald CA-37, Chairwoman	Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers MI-3, Ranking Member
Rep. Robert A. Brady, PA-1	Rep. Dan Lungren, CA-3
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, CA-16	Rep. Kevin McCarthy, CA-22
Rep. Mike Capuano, MA-8
Rep. Charles Gonzalez, TX-20
Rep. Susan Davis, CA-53

Subcommittee on Elections
Members:

Democrats	Republicans
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, CA-16 Subcommittee Chair	Rep. Kevin McCarthy, CA-22 Subcommittee Ranking Member
Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, CA-37	Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers, MI-3
Rep. Charles Gonzalez, TX-20
Rep. Susan Davis, CA-53

H.R. 811 Text

Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 (Introduced in House)

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Beginning

February 5, 2007

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECURITY THROUGH VOTER-VERIFIED PERMANENT PAPER BALLOT.

`SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE BALLOT VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.

SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS BY HAND COUNT.

`SEC. 321. ESTABLISHMENT OF ELECTION AUDIT BOARDS.

`SEC. 322. NUMBER OF BALLOTS COUNTED UNDER AUDIT.

`SEC. 323. PROCESS FOR ADMINISTERING AUDITS.

`SEC. 324. SELECTION OF PRECINCTS.

`SEC. 325. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS.

`SEC. 326. PAYMENTS TO STATES.

`SEC. 327. EXCEPTION FOR ELECTIONS SUBJECT TO AUTOMATIC RECOUNT UNDER STATE LAW.

`SEC. 328. EFFECTIVE DATE.

`Subtitle C--Mandatory Manual Audits by Election Audit Boards

SEC. 6. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

HR 811 Factsheets to Study and Share

Download, read, and circulate these 1- and 2-page briefings on the false promises and dangerous deceptions of the "Increased Voter Confidence and Voting Accessibility Act" otherwise known as HR 811.

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• Why the Election Assisatance Commission Must Be Abolished by Nancy Tobi

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These issue factsheets created by and published at

VotersUnite.org

Participate in Protecting Our Democracy!

Help Amend HR 811 to prohibit "electronic ballots."

This page lists a variety of materials you can use, and actions you can take, to work toward informing Congress and others of the reasons why electronic ballots must be prohibited in the United States -- NOW. These materials are aimed at amending Congressman Rush Holt's bill ("Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007") to ban electronic ballots.

General Informationfor Congress and Others Electronic Voting Does Not Serve the Disabilities Community Electronic Voting Machines Disenfranchise Minority Voters

Take Action Now!

Email Congress to tell them the Holt bill (HR 811) must be amended to ban DREs
Electronic voting machines (DRE) are a failed technology that disenfranchises the very taxpayers who pay for them.



Call Congress to Ban Electronic Ballots. Let us know who you called.
This page lists all the House Members and their phone numbers.
We're putting stars by the ones that you let us know you've called.


Endorse our proposed amendments to HR 811
Urge Congress to require real paper ballots, marked by voters or by non-tabulating ballot-marking devices.

General Information for Congress and Others



A Call for an Amendment to HR 811 to Prohibit Unverifiable “Electronic Ballots”

10-page combination of several handouts on this page, with an annotated Table of Contents.

Why the Urgent Need to Ban Electronic Ballots?

A bullet list of the many reasons why DREs constitute a new and subtle
form of high tech voter suppression. Links to supporting information
are included, along with brief excerpts.
Printable pdf without links and excerpts

Election Reform in a High-Tech World - Handout
A 2-page standalone explanation of why electronic ballots
(electrical charges inside a computer) cannot be safeguarded the way
paper ballots can, and how prohibiting the use of electronic ballots
will solve practical election problems.



The Impact of an HR 811 Amendment to Ban Electronic Ballots
A one-page list detailing the practical implications of such an amendment - what the amendment will and will not do.
Printable pdf handout



A Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail - Not a Reliable Back Up
One-page summarizing some evidence of past failures of
voter-verifiable paper audit trails to provide a reliable indication of
voter intent.


Pictorial Handout

An illustration of the most important benefit of amending Congressman
Holt’s election reform bill to prohibit the use of electronic ballots:
rather than counting unverified electronic ballots, voter-verified
paper ballots would be counted for the initial tally rather than set
aside to be possibly checked only in audits and recounts.

Electronic Voting Does Not Serve the Disabilities Community



Americans with Disabilities Call for Election Systems Featuring Both Accessibility and Security
A statement written by Mr. Noel Runyan, a blind accessibility
expert, calling for voting systems that use only paper ballots. As of
March 28, signatories include 34 leaders in the disabilities community
and more signatures are added every day.



Pictorial Handout
An illustration of the fact that accessibility for people with
disabilities can be achieved without the use of electronic ballot
systems.

Electronic Voting Machines Disenfranchise Minority Voters



2004 and 2006 New Mexico Canvass Data Shows Undervote Rates Plummet in Minority Precincts When Paper Ballots are Used
A report showing that the undervote rate in minority precincts
decreased by as much as 85% when the state switched from electronic
ballot systems to paper ballots.



Electronic Voting Machines: New, High-Tech Ways to Disenfranchise African-Americans

2-pages of evidence that DREs are disproportionately disenfranchising African-American voters.

Letter to Congress: Halt H.R. 811, Too Dangerous for Democracy

Compose and FAX Letters to Tell Congress: NO on H.R. 811

To compose your message to Congress, copy and paste the text below into the body of a new text document or e-mail message, and try to put it into your own words. To increase the persuasiveness of your letter, adapt several of the suggested talking points below in your own words. (It's much more effective to not send form letters!)

Send copies to your own Congressional representative and to members of the Committee on House Administration, using the contact information listed here.
We recommend faxing your letters as the most effective means of delivery.
You can fax the chair of the committee this prescription for electoral integrity, too.

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Re: Halt H.R. 811, a Clear and Present Danger to Electoral Democracy

To the Honorable

I write in opposition to the Holt Bill, H.R. 811, which promises "increased voter confidence" but actually perpetuates secret vote-counting by computers while handing centralized control of federal elections to four White House appointees.

Because it requires a computerized text conversion device in every polling place, H.R. 811 would actually require electronic voting machines, compromising noncomputerized voting methods such as handcounted paper ballots.

For the same reason H.R. 811 would also rule out noncomputerized voter assistive devices that provide better accessiblity features at far less cost, while avoiding the unacceptable risks of secret, computerized vote-counting.

This unnecessary, unproven, as-yet nonexistent text converter device that H.R. 811 requires is a gift to the E-voting industry and an under-funded federal mandate that will impose huge cost burdens on the states.

H.R. 811 provides no means to enforce election laws that are being routinely violated. This hardly inspires "increased voter confidence" in elections.

Election auditing procedures in H.R. 811--which apply to post-election results rather than to the first count--are poorly conceived and inadequate to reliably detect electronic fraud or mistabulation. This inspires alarm, not confidence.

The EAC, created as a temporary advisory commission to implement HAVA, is in fact a federal executive commission that can at any time be converted into a federal regulatory agency by the insertion of a single line of text in any act of Congress.

Regulatory powers would enable the EAC to effectively bypass Congress and create law that preempts Constitutional state sovereignty in election administration. This would allow four White House appointees to determine:

* Which voting systems are approved for use in our elections
* Who counts the votes, and how votes are counted
* How recounts are conducted and outcomes decided

This is a clear and present danger to American democracy. Do not allow it! Reject H.R. 811!

True election reform that ensures, rather than threatens democratic foundations, requires

* Public ownership of any voting system
* Citizen oversight of all electoral processes
* State sovereignty in conducting elections

H.R. 811 is opposed by the National Association of Counties, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Association of Secretaries of State because elections administrators in the 50 states understand the disastrous destabilizing effects H.R. 811 will have on U.S. elections. That's why they say NO to H.R. 811 -- and why you should too.

Sincerely,

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Customize your letter by adapting several of the following talking points or adding your own.

If you are writing a letter to the editor (LTE), the usual length limitation is about 250 words. The above letter is 308 words. The longest paragraph is 80 words, and the smallest, about 30. The average line contains 15 words, so subtracting 4 lines would yield a letter that would be within most LTE length limits.

I am especially upset because H.R. 811:

• Entrenches private E-voting vendors that have no business managing public elections

• Despite its backers' claims, H. R. 811 does not eliminate DREs

• Allows election technologies that threaten the secrecy of the ballot

• Perpetuates the pretense of a certification process that cannot possibly assure secure or reliable voting equipment

• Allows election reporting practices that expose election results to Internet manipulation

• Leaves the nation exposed to risk of undetectable, outcome-alterning mass vote fraud and illegitimate government

• Imposes mandates for unnecessary and unproven E-voting equipment at unmet cost to the states

• Sets impossible timelines for implementing complex technical mandates

• Centralizes control of elections under a permanent four-person board appointed by the president

• Erodes state sovereignty as a check on federal government power

• Maintains the unacceptable practice of electronic vote counting, a process inherently secret from the voters