Md. General Assembly Preserves Funding
for Switch to
Verifiable Voting in 2010
In 2007 the Maryland General Assembly (GA) voted unanimously
to switch to a reliable, accessible, verifiable voting system. Bills before the 2009 Assembly that threatened to delay implementation of the new paper-based optical scan/accessible ballot marking system were defeated through the efforts of supportive delegates and senators and activists like you. Thank to them, and your emails and testimonies, Maryland voters will have more secure elections next year. Congratulations to all on this major accomplishment!
Paper ballot voting will save Maryland and its counties millions (see the detailed cost study), due to the extravagant costs for maintaining the less reliable and impossible to verify touch-screen machines. The paper-based optical scan system is already used in 55% of the nation's counties. Just a few years ago, many jurisdictions in Maryland used paper-ballot optical scan voting with lower costs and greater reliability. We also support the state using a system that provides private and independent voting for disabled voters, alongside the paper ballot-based system.
Nothing is more important in our democracy than honest elections that voters know we can trust. Unless our elections meet that requirement, the rest of our democratic processes amount to window-dressing. When we change the means of voting in any way, we must guarantee that the new means leads to the agreed-upon end—to honest, transparent elections, that is—not to the unforeseen one of invisible ballots and unverifiable elections...
P.O. Box 7041 
