Utah County Group Touts Electronic Voting
None by KCPW
Candidate Expo Set for Saturday
(KCPW News) From Utah County - sometimes known as "Happy Valley" - comes a new voice in voter awareness."I think that in politics we need to start being positive," says Jessica Connors, Orem resident and organizer of Citizens' Resource. "Because it's all of this tendency to be cynical that makes politicians instead of statesmen."
The non-partisan Citizens' Resource aims to encourage more voter turnout and touts the benefits of touch-screen voting machines and new laws that allow voting up to two weeks early. Connors says both provisions will give more people the chance to cast a ballot - despite vocal concerns from other citizens groups about security risks. Connors says even more important than how you cast your vote is knowing who you are voting for.
"Don't vote by how many campaign signs you've seen and the best design of those, cause I've done that in the past," says Connors. "I think we're all guilty of just running into the polls sometimes with no information. Make it a priority to be educated and get to the polls."
Citizens' Resource will hold its annual Primary Candidate Expo at Utah Valley State College this Saturday from 12:30 to 5 p.m. featuring debates between key Utah County candidates in the upcoming primary. A 1 p.m. face-off between 3rd district Congressman Chris Cannon and challenger John Jacob will be taped for use on CNN. More information at www.citizensresource.org.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW
1. Barbara said:
Ms. Connors has clearly not read the Hursti II report based on his examination of the Diebold TSx machines.
In recently released documents, Diebold spokesman Dana LaTour comments, "The lack of public interest in Utah to the crisis in California is interesting though."
LACK OF PUBLIC INTEREST!
There is a difference between "being positive" and being informed, and being informed well enough to recognize when you have to go deeper than what the salespeople tell you.
2. Nancy Tobi said:
Solid factual information about our defective electronic voting equipment is readily available, starting with these two government commissioned reports: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05956.pdf
http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/voting_systems/security_analysis_of_the_diebold_accubasic_interpreter.pdf
I don't fault people for not knowing about the very real problems with the electronic voting industry, because there has been a virtual media blackout on this issue since Election 2000. However, a group purporting to be an election-focused group, if it is truly an honest citizens group, should be informing themselves and their membership about this serious problem. There is virtually no controversy regarding the facts around the defective technology that has been sold and will be used in more than 80% of our nation's election systems during the 2006 elections. Scientific testing, studies, and empirical data all support the facts: we have been sold a bill of goods, at the cost of billions of taxpayer dollars.