America's Voting Machines at Risk

The President's Commission on Election Administration issued a report two years ago that included this passage: "Perhaps the most dire warning the Commission heard in its investigation concerned the impending crisis in voting technology. Well-known to Election Administrators, if not the public at large, this impending crisis arises from the widespread wearing out of voting machines purchased a decade ago ..."

In September of 2015, New York University's Brennan Center for Justice also issued a report, "America's Voting Machines at Risk." It raised concerns including the failure of equipment to work as intended and the difficulty of finding replacement parts for machines that are no longer manufactured.

The Brennan Center report points out that many voting systems rely on software that is out of date, making it impossible to find hardware that is compatible with the antiquated operating systems.

New equipment is an undeniable priority. It goes without saying that elections are a government responsibility that must be funded. Their integrity is fundamental to our democratic form of government.

The best path forward is for states to work together to craft a funding solution.

It is up to elections officials to acquire or develop voting systems at the best price. They must be compliant with Federal and State laws that require a fully accessible voting experience for all individuals, particularly those with disabilities.

With Congress stuck in partisan gridlock, states are on their own. They must commit to a plan and provide ongoing funding to ensure that our elections are reliable and secure and that every vote is counted and every ballot accounted for.

Democracy demands it.

CLICK HERE to read the report.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Independents Make Their Voices Heard in Ohio

As a political activist and a member of IndependentVoting.org, these types of participation is what we all have to take part in, if we wish to take back the "People's House".

Several days before President Obama’s Commission on Election Administration hearing in Ohio, the Canton Repository published Independent Ohio leader Cynthia Carpathios' letter to the editor:

Obama Commission Should Study Barriers to Independent Voting

President Obama’s Commission on Election Administration has been holding public hearings around the country.  The 10-member body is tasked with presenting recommendations to the president about how to “improve the voter experience.”  Independent voters have a lot to say about the topic.

Representatives of independent voter groups from around the country have attended hearings in D.C., Miami, Denver and Philadelphia and submitted testimony.  Independents from the Midwest, including a number of independents who are part of Independent Ohio, a group of independent voting activists in Ohio who are under the umbrella of IndependentVoting.org, a national association for independent voters, will be attending and testifying at the hearing scheduled in Cincinnati on Sept. 20.

Independents are deeply concerned that America’s political process is in crisis and agree this deserves serious attention.  But the commission has carved out a narrow mandate that we believe falls short of the public debate we need to have.

There are specific defects affecting independent voters that the commission doesn’t seem prepared to address.

For example, here in Ohio, independents can vote only on issues, not on candidates, in the primaries unless they choose to join one of the parties and vote on their ballot.  With 40 percent of Americans now identifying as independent, looking at these process issues should be a commission priority.  We urge the commission to address them in the report it produces from these hearings.

Independents believe that reform won’t come from the political parties themselves — they have too much to lose — but from outside of it and from the bottom up.  We are working to expose the barriers to fully participating in the electoral process that independents face.

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On September 20 2013, independents from Ohio and Kentucky made presentations to the President's Commission on Election Administration at their final public hearing in Cincinnati.  Independent Ohio leader Rick Robol reported that when Commission Co-Chairman Ginsberg asked our team to condense their presentations because they had "previously heard from the independents," we made it clear we would be heard!  Robol, Mark Ritter (Independent Kentucky), Sadie Stewart, Jonathan Lippincott and Mary Rook each shared their unique perspectives on the barriers to participation faced by independent voters.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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President's Commission on Election Administration

On a Tuesday, June 25th National Conference call with 150 independents, Jackie Salit, President of IndependentVoting.org, launched a new campaign to pressure President Obama's newly formed Commission on Election Administration.

Here's what she had to say after the call:



Independents across the country are sending a loud message to the President's Commission that any examination into defects in the election process must look at independents' experience, and the way we are inhibited from participating in the process.

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Letter to the President's Commission on Election Administration

Presidential Commission on Election Administration
GSA, 1776 G Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Commissioners,

We, the undersigned, are independent voters from all 50 states. We are deeply concerned that America’s political process is in a crisis and that serious attention must be paid to it.

We are glad that President Obama has formed a commission to look at some of the defects in the electoral process, though we feel the narrow mandate of the Commission falls short of the public debate we need to have. One example of these shortcomings is that there are specific defects that affect independent voters which the Commission does not seem prepared to address. With 40% of Americans now identifying as independent, this should be a Commission priority.

Independents are not accorded the same courtesies and privileges as members of political parties, such as receiving mailed ballots at home or having the right to serve as poll workers on Election Day. During primary season, where some states permit us to vote, we come face to face with poll workers who do not understand their own rules and frequently misinform us about our voting rights. We have no representation on the Federal Elections Commission or Boards of Elections, and are often required to register to vote as “unenrolled” or “undeclared” voters, not as the independents that we are. In many states, we are barred from primary voting altogether, even though we – as taxpayers – finance those closed party primaries.

As you go about your work to identify and recommend improvements to the voting experience, we urge you to recognize that the American people want a more non-partisan form of politics at every level. Please use the power the President has given you to be open and responsive to this need!

Sincerely,

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CLICK HERE to sign the letter to the Commission today!










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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