Voting Integrity for Tennessee
Electronic Voting Machines are the subject of much controversy. From our humble beginnings, paper ballots have served our nation and state well. As citizens of the state of Tennessee, we respectfully ask the Tennessee State Legislature and the State Election Commission to restore paper ballot voting and ensure voting integrity in all elections conducted in the state of Tennessee.
We the undersigned citizens are concerned about electronic voting machines, and we request that paper ballot voting be restored to all elections conducted in the state of Tennessee before the 2008 elections begin.
There are many reasons to be concerned about the accuracy and integrity of electronic voting machines. These machines and their memory cards frequently malfunction resulting in controversial voting results, where it is virtually impossible to determine the true winner. A paper trail receipt from an electronic machine gives a false sense of security as its voting integrity is still shrouded from public accountability. With the use of these machines we have surrendered our voting process to the private corporations that guard their technology with trade secrets. There is no simple way to determine whether a voter's choice is accurately recorded and reported by electronic voting machines.
There are several reports on electronic voting malfunctions and accountability that have previously been presented to the Tennessee Election Commission. Indecisiveness of the Commission by waiting for federal government legislation may leave all 2008 elections wide open to the vulnerability of electronic voting machines. Tennessee needs to act now to protect voting integrity so that all 2008 elections will have complete accuracy and accountability.
Paper Ballots have served this country and state well in the past. Let us return to the voting system that previously worked so well for our state by immediately restoring paper ballot voting to all Tennessee elections.
