Doolittle Stands for the Right to Hack Electronic Voting Machines

HR 550 is a US House Bill with bi-partisan support which creates paper trail voting accompanied by mandatory surprise audits. It uses an optical scanning system which is far cheaper than the Diebold eVoting Machines and much more reliable. HR 550 also goes further than the HAVA Act Doolittle mentions below in making voting more accessible for the disabled.

Therefore both Doolittle's reasons for non-support are smoke screens. So why would any congressman not support this bill ? VERY SCARY!

Does it mean he wants to retain the ability to hack into those electronic voting machines ??

Why do I know so much about this act? Jack Sanchez, Karen Tajbl, Jeanene O'Brien, Kathryn Lee (representing youth), Marilyn Jasper (Chair of local Sierra Club), Jerry Straughan, and I lobbied John in August 2005, but of course were only given access to a staffer at his Roseville Office. We made a thorough presentation on the pros and cons of the act and asked for John's support. At that time the answer we eventually received from JD was that he needed further studies before he could support it.




-----Original Message-----
From: Congressman John T. Doolittle [mailto:ca04ima@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2006 8:02 AM
To:
Subject: Reply from Congressman John T. Doolittle





Dear Ms. :


Thank you for inquiring about H.R. 550, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ). I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts with you on this issue.


As you know, I sit on the House Administration Committee, which is currently reviewing H.R. 550. As a member of the Committee, I enjoy a close working relationship with the Election Assistance Commissioners who are charged with implementing and overseeing election initiatives and processes, as well as other stakeholders such as local election officials who are charged with administering elections. While opinions vary on this issue, I have yet to see evidence that the federal mandate which H.R. 550 imposes would be beneficial to our elections. Currently, states are free to adopt systems that include a voter-verified paper trail, but H.R. 550 would require all states to do so.


In a recent hearing on H.R. 550, concerns over the use of paper ballots came to light, such as voting machine malfunctions that would result in the loss of the "verifiable" paper records. In addition to technical problems that affect paper ballots, this type of system puts the disabled - specifically the blind community - at a disadvantage. With the passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, blind people are now able to vote independently and confidentially for the first time. H.R. 550 would take away that ability for those citizens.


As such, I have decided not to cosponsor H.R. 550 at this time. While I share your commitment to fair and free elections, I will not support imposing a federal mandate, as H.R. 550 would, that requires states to adopt a costly system which has proven to be flawed. Instead, I will continue to work closely with the commissioners and local election officials to determine which systems work, which do not, and what role the federal government should play in regulating those systems.


Again, thank you for contacting me regarding this issue. I will keep your views in mind as H.R. 550 continues through the legislative process. If I may be of further service on this or any other federal matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.



Sincerely,

John T. Doolittle
Member of Congress