Oppose a Dangerous Election Security Fix

On January 17, 2008, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) introduced Bill H.R. 5036, Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008, which would purportedly reverse some of the damage caused by the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

We strongly object to the unconstitutional means by which H.R. 5036 would use the people's desire for voter-verified paper ballots as bait for establishing centralized, federal control over elections.

The Election Administration Commission (est. 2002) would also be granted ominous new audit regulatory power. The EAC might very well become a vehicle for inviting U.N. international obervers to jointly monitor elections throughout America.

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http://capwiz.com/jbs/issues/alert/?alertid=10932736

Critics of H.R. 5036 assert:

* It would significantly expand an unconstitutional federal power grab to control elections that was initiated through the disastrous Help America Vote act of 2002 (HAVA) with its establishing of the Election Administration Commission (EAC).
* A voter-verified paper ballot voting system is no guarantee against wholesale election fraud. Electronic optical scanners used to count votes on paper ballots can still be hacked or tampered with.
* The proposed EAC audit powers undermine the benefit of the paper ballot system the bill seeks to promote, because per the proposed EAC audit policy only "random" audits would be subsidized and none of the bill's $100 million of authorized funding could be used for "targeted" audits directed at where there is a suspicion of election fraud.
* Undesirable consequences may result from the bill's augmentation of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The EAC might invite U.N. international observers to be placed throughout America to jointly monitor the fairness of U.S. elections.

Thank you,

The John Birch Society
Standing for family and freedom since 1958