To the Editor:

 

HR 811, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007, is flawed legislation that encourages continued use of DREs - direct record electronic voting machines.

 

One of our most sacred rights - the right to vote - is being turned over to private companies.  Since the software that operates the voting machines is secret, we have no way of determining the reliability of either the software or the machines.

 

Ever since electronic voting machines were introduced, problems have mushroomed.  Several of the 2006 congressional races were "won" under suspicious circumstances.  Voters are justifiably wary.

 

The easiest solution is also the simplest, cheapest and most reliable one.  Paper ballots can accommodate virtually every voter.  They can be printed in multiple languages.  They can be printed in Braille for the vision-impaired.  They are a permanent, tangible record that can't be readily altered in large numbers.

 

HR 811 would be a much-improved bill if it banned DREs.  It is a sad commentary that the world's oldest democracy is turning away from its oldest, most reliable voting method.

 

Thom Fistner

Ridley Park