Column: Virginia voters should demand voting equality

Collegiate Times January 19, 2005
      
By: Jonathan McGlumphy

regular columnist

With the inauguration of President Bush this Thursday, the 2004 election cycle will finally come to an end. However, many questions still remain, particularly in Ohio, where numerous reports of voting irregularities have come to light in recent weeks. The example of unverifiable electronic votes due to the lack of a paper trail comes readily to mind. Even more disturbing is the fact that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell ? the man in charge of certifying the votes ? was also co-chairman of the Bush/Cheney campaign in the Buckeye state. This is a clear conflict of interest, and it makes one wonder if a single vote even counts.

Despite the seemingly widespread opinion that voting will change nothing, I can think of several instances from this past election of where a few votes ? even one ? made a difference.

In the City of Radford, the posts of sheriff and commonwealth?s attorney were both decided by a handful of votes.

In Washington State, a three-way race between the Democratic, Libertarian and Republican candidates for governor was so close that the ballots were recounted twice in some counties before the election finally went to court.

In Montana, a Constitution Party candidate lost a race for the state?s General Assembly to a Democrat by a single vote. Incidentally, had the Constitutionalist won, the Montana House would have been a 50-49-1 split in terms of party membership ? hardly inconsequential.

On a more historical note, it was also by a single vote in the Tennessee House in 1920 that ratified the 19th Amendment, which ensured the right of women to vote. So, it is clear that one vote can sometimes make a difference.

However, to paraphrase Joseph Stalin, it does not matter who votes, but rather who counts the votes; they will have all the power in the world. It is for this very reason that the shady business going on in Ohio should worry all of us. And it?s not about changing the results in favor of Sen. Kerry; it?s about whether or not we as Americans can have faith in one of our oldest privileges as citizens.

I do not wish to linger on what cannot be undone. Rather, I believe we should look into the future, one where we are assured that our votes are properly counted. This is especially true for those of us who are Virginia voters; while a majority of Americans will not have to think about elections for at least two more years, we have a governor?s race coming up this November, as well as the entire House of Delegates. These are offices that will affect us much more closely to home than the president or even Congress.

Unfortunately, our Virginia votes may be in danger. Many localities, including Montgomery County, are planning to switch to electronic voting machines that do not produce any sort of verifiable paper trail. Even scarier is that in many places across the country, manufacturers of electronic voting machines refuse to make the source code that operates them public.

In a recent report published by the Fairfax County Republican Committee, there are numerous examples of WINvote machines ? the same type that will soon be used in Montgomery County ? failing to properly record votes, and in one instance even subtracting votes from a candidate. The Federated Computing Research Conference strongly recommended that the state pass laws requiring voter-verifiable paper receipts on all electronic voting machines. Fortunately, there are those in the General Assembly ? including Christiansburg Delegate David Nutter ? who view this suggestion favorably.

There are also numerous citizens in this area who are concerned with paperless voting machines. In September, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors heard public comment regarding the purchase of the WINvote machines. Nearly every person who addressed the board was against it. The board proceeded to slap them in the face by voting in favor of the purchase, with only one member dissenting.

This is precisely the type of attitude that our elected officials should not have. Many Americans cherish their votes and want to make sure that they are properly counted. In the coming months, I implore each and every reader of this editorial page to stay informed of the paperless ballot issue and strongly oppose any attempt to diminish the integrity of the vote. If you are a Virginian, contact your delegate and tell him that you want paper-verified ballots. If you live elsewhere, be sure your displeasure of unverifiable votes is made known to your elected officials.

If you should be here at Tech in November, take any steps to prevent the re-election of the Montgomery County Supervisors who so callously ignored the will of their constituents. I can assure you that this columnist will be here to fight for the sanctity of our vote.