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VOTING
BY MAIL Psephos Proposal for Paper Ballots, Hand Counted at Precinct Level Secretary of State Debra Bowen's August, 2007 decertification of the current electronic voting system in San Diego prompted SD-ROV Deborah Seiler to propose a county-wide mail-in-vote system for future elections. Plans for vote-by-mail are already underway. Many Election Integrity groups are opposed to this plan. In late September of 2007, Ken Karan and Linda Poniktera, founders of the election integrity group Psephos, presented a proposal to both Secretary of State Debra Bowen. This proposal calls for an election conducted on paper ballots hand counted at the precinct level. Ken Karan, executive director of Psephos, writes, "The proposal recommends implementation of a proven methodology that will empower voters to cast and hand count paper ballots at the precinct level upon the close of the polls rather than accept the risks of using a central tabulator." Karan's letter goes on to state three goals that the proposal will achieve: To help election officials to ensure the integrity of election results, increase voter turnout and citizen involvement in elections, and also to help exert fiscal control by having Diebold pay for a hand counted vote as the "cost of avoiding claims of default." The proposal, prepared by Ken Karan and Linda Poniktera, both of Psephos, focuses on the flaws in the vote by mail plan proposed by San Diego County, and others, in response to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's decertification/recertification of most computer voting machines. Psephos makes the point that hand counting on election night ensures election integrity by making the vote far less vulnerable to chain of custody violations, and the breaches of security well documented in electronic voting machinery. Psephos' proposal then goes on to thoroughly define a successful system of paper ballots counted at the precinct level, as practiced by the state of New Hampshire and others. More points illustrate how such a plan can work in large precincts with lengthy ballots that have many issues. The proposal also includes an attachment, complete with graphics, with a detailed explanation of the "sort and stack" method of hand counting that is used in New Hampshire. In order to read the entire proposal and attachments, please download the 27 page pdf file here: http://www.secureelections.org/HCPBPROPOSAL.pdf
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