[ale] [OT] Update: GA SB 500 - Voter Verified Audit Trail legislation

[aaron]

IMPORTANT VVPB UPDATE -- REPRESENTATIVE CONTACT ADDITONS

The independent research votes on paperless electronic election systems have 
now been cast, counted and certified, and the rejection of the Diebold 
machines and systems used throughout Georgia is nearly unanimous.

After conducting independent reviews and testing of electronic voting systems 
for his own state, Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller, a former head of 
the Nevada Gaming Control Board, declared that Georgia's Diebold system 
[quote] "Represents a legitimate threat to the integrity of the election 
process." [end quote]

Authoritative technology institutions and companies across the U.S., including 
respected names like Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Cornell, UC Berkeley, 
Johns Hopkins University, MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Georgia 
Tech, Carnegie Mellon and Sun Microsystems, have signed a resolution which 
mandates a voter-verifiable paper audit trail as the single, simple and 
affordable modification to existing electronic systems that would very 
effectively guard against election fraud and restore voter confidence in the 
entire election process. [<http://www.verifiedvoting.org/resolution.asp>]

Georgia Senate Bill SB-500 mandates that this essential Voter Verified Paper 
Ballot auditing be integrated into Georgia's election systems. This 
multi-partisan legislation was unanimously approved by a quorum of the 
Georgia Senate's State and Local Government Operations committee on Thursday, 
2004.03.11. [The SB-500 bill is publically posted at: 
<http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/fulltext/sb500.htm>]

The fate of SB-500 currently rests with the Senate Rules committee, the body 
responsible for setting the debate calendar for the Senate floor.  The 
committee, chaired by Senator Don Balfour, MUST place the bill on the Senate 
calendar during their MONDAY, MARCH 15th meeting if the legislation is to 
meet scheduling deadlines and move forward through this 2004 session.

All advocates of democracy who wish to see this vital legislation succeed are 
urged to immediately call, write, fax or email their Georgia representatives 
and members of the Senate Rules committee with their [succinct] comments 
supporting the implementation of Voter Verified Paper Ballot auditing.

Concerned Georgia voters are also invited to enjoy a free, personal lesson in 
civics by joining fellow voter rights advocates in an exciting and 
educational day of lobbying for SB-500 at the Georgia State Capitol building 
on Monday, March 15, 2004.

Contact information for the 16 member Senate Rules committee includes:
====
Senator Don Balfour, (R-SS 09)
- Rules Committee Chairman
Assistant: Beverly Crumbley 
Phone:  (404) 656-0095
Fax :     (404) 656-6581
Email: ss9balfour at aol.com

District Address: 2312 Waterscape Trail Snellville GA 30078
(404) 656-0095

---
Sen. Casey Cagle, (R-SS 49)
- Rules Committee Vice Chairman
Phone:  (404) 656-6578
Fax:      (404) 651-6768
Email:  kccagle at bellsouth.net 

District Address: 4143 Ashford Way, Gainesville, 30507
(770) 297-0409

---
Sen. Thomas E. Price, (R-SS 56)
- Rules Committee Secretary [ ** SB-500 Sponsor **]
Phone: (404) 656-0040
Fax:     (404) 651-5588
Email:  TPrice at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: PO Box 1522, Roswell, 30077
(770) 587-9384

---
Sen. Peg Blitch, (D-SS 07) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-0053
Fax:     (404) 657-1806
Email:  pblitch at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: PO Box 335, Homerville, 31634
(912) 487-2280

---
Sen. Nathan Dean, (D-SS 31) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-5121
Fax:     (404) 651-6768
Email: ndean at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: PO Box 606, Rockmart, 30153
(770) 684-7851

---
Sen. Bill Hamrick, (R-SS 30) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-0036
Fax:     (404) 657-0459
Email: bhamrickiii at yahoo.com 

District Address: 301 Bradley Street, Carrollton, 30117
(770) 214-8210

---
Sen. Jack Hill, (R-SS 04) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-5038
Fax:     (404) 557-3811
 Email: jhill at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: PO Box 486, Reidsville, 30453
(912) 557-3811

---
Sen. Eric Johnson, (R-SS 01)
- Member [** SB-500 Sponsor **]
Phone: (404) 656-5109
Fax:     (404) 656-5109
Email: ejohnson at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: 22 Marsh Point Drive, Savannah, 31406
(912) 354-4626

---
Sen. Rene' D. Kemp, (D-SS 03) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-0070
Fax: (404) 657-1806
Email: rkemp at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: PO Box 497, Hinesville, 31310
(912) 876-5125

---
Sen. Robert Lamutt, (R-SS 21) - Ex-Officio
Phone: (404) 656-5085
Fax:     (404) 651-6767
Email: rlamutt at mindspring.com 

District Address: 4667 Jefferson Township Place, Marietta, 30066
(770) 552-4240

---
Sen. Daniel W Lee, (R-SS 29) - Ex-Officio
Phone: (404) 651-7738
Fax:     (404) 651-5795
Email:  danlee at bellsouth.net 

District Address: Sen. Daniel W. Lee, 307 Church Street, La Grange, 30240
(706) 812-1224

---
Sen. Michael S. Meyer von Bremen, (D-SS 12) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-0037
Fax: (404) 657-9887
Email: mmeyer at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: PO Box 72065, Albany, 31700
(229) 439-7504

---
Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, (R-SS 28)
- Member [* Member SLGO Committee approving SB-500]
Phone: (404) 656-6446
Fax:     (404) 657-3217
Email: mail at votemithch.com 

District Address: PO Box 504, Sharpsburg, 30277
(770) 502-7990

---
Sen. Bill Stephens, (R-SS 51)
- Member  [ ** SB-500 Sponsor **]
Phone: (404) 656-0048
Fax:     (404) 463-4220
Email:  bstephen at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: PO Box 4400, Canton, 30114
(770) 517-5229

---
Sen. Don R.Thomas, (R-SS 54) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-6436
Fax:     (404) 463-4161
Email: dthomas at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: 184 Haig Mill Rd., Dalton, 30721
Phone: (706) 259-3921

---
Sen. Nadine Thomas, (D-SS 10) - Member
Phone: (404) 656-0078
Fax:     (404) 651-6767
Email: nthomas at legis.state.ga.us 

District Address: 4153 Flatshoals Pkway, Suite 102, Decatur, 30034
(404) 241-7712

---
Sen. Renee S. Unterman, (R-SS 45)
- Ex-Officio [* Chair of SLGO Committee approving SB-500]
Phone: (404) 463-1368
Fax:     (404) 656-6579
Email:  reneeu at bellsouth.net

District Address: PO Box 1685, Loganville, 30052
(770) 466-1507

=====================================================
For the public electronic contacts listing see:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_org_detail.pl?Com=gasrules 
=====================================================

Note that SB-500 must pass the full Senate by the 33rd day of the 40 day 
session, the "crossover" day, in order to be debated and passed in the House, 
and subsequently signed into law by the Governor.

With sincere thanks for everyone's support and attention in restoring 
confidence and integrity to the election process,

Aaron Ruscetta
Decatur, Georgia

Concerned voter, Electronic media and IT professional,  
Member of the Electronic Frontiers of Georgia (efga.org),
Member of the Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts (ale.org), and 
Contributing supporter of the Electronic Freedom Foundation (eff.org).


===========================================================
This document was compiled and composed with the generous assistance
of members of the League Opposed to Virtual Elections, Count The Vote, the 
Georgia Green Party, Georgians Against Black Box Voting and the Voter 
Independence Project and many others.
 
If you would like to learn more about this important issue and what you
can do to restore the integrity and transparency of elections in Georgia
and our nation, please link to any of the following sites:  

    http://www.voterchoice.org/auditableballots.php  
    http://www.verifiedvoting.com/
    http://www.countthevote.org/
    http://www.blackboxvoting.com/
    http://www.voteamericavote.com/krugman.html 
    http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/hava/hava.html

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