The Commendable Commonwealth: Way To Go, PA
Press Release    American Voter   11 April 2005 

Democracy has been defended. Top officials in Pennsylvania have made a bold move to protect the votes of the people. Their representation of the public is an admirable example of a good start to an important ongoing effort.

(PRWEB) April 11, 2005 Kudos are due to Governor Ed Rendell, Secretary of State Pedro Cort?s, Dr. Michael Shamos, and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Department of State. They have decertified a faulty ballotless voting system and it will no longer be imposed on the voting citizens of PA. These responsible officials have truly represented the best interests of the people and deserve our thanks and loyal support.

It was a brave action to oppose the disenfranchisement of the voters in this situation. It is the type of courage that the founders of these United States would view with admiration. It may be essential to the wellbeing of our country that this shining example be held up in every of the 50 states so that it can be emulated by all worthy political officeholders, of all party affiliations. Every time one of these secret, failure-prone, voter-unfriendly, count-mangling systems is taken out of use, it is a victory for Americans. There are other unsuitable systems still out there, and one can only hope this will be the start of a thorough process of eradication that prevents other such products from thwarting public representation. The obvious undervote problem with the UniLect Patriot is only one of many other problems, some of which aren't so obvious, or particularly detectable at all. We must keep examining all such systems and refusing to use any that do not provide a voter-verified permanent paper ballot for official hand counts and recounts.

This is the type of dedicated public service that the world should emulate, and this great state and our nation deserve more like it. Note the real commitment to democracy shown by Governor Rendell, Secretary of state Pedro Cort?s, Dr. Michael Shamos, and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Department of State. Remember that they have done the right thing for the voters, and we hope that others will share in our appreciation of their responsible actions.

# # #