VanOs & NAACP Fight For Voters

On Wednesday, David VanOs, candidate for Texas Attorney General, joined the Austin NAACP, the Texas Civil Rights Project, and two Travis County voters, to file a lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams and Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir. The suit seeks to stop Travis County from using its electronic voting machines.

The eSlate system that is used by Travis County does not produce a paper ballot or receipt that can be used to perform a recount. Supporters of the system said it was secure and images of each ballot are stored electronically. This sounds good, but that is not enough. If a machine is screwing up, how can we trust the images stored on it? And don't tell me the machines don't screw up! During the last primary, Tarrant County's electronic system dropped an extra 100,000 votes into the totals. The machines are only as good as the people who program and operate them.

The lawsuit claims that electronic voting fails to meet the fairness standard by:

1. Voters have no way of knowing whether their vote was recorded or stored correctly.

2. Electronic systems are prone to fraud and mistakes.

3. Travis County voters are denied equal protection because they must use this system, while many other Texans do not use it.

We owe a big thank you to the people who brought this lawsuit. There is nothing more sacred in a democracy than the counting of votes. Paper ballots can be recounted as many times as neccessary, while the electronic machines must simply be believed. Give me an old paper ballot any day. It may take longer to count, but you can trust it.

I must say that Attorney General candidate, David VanOs, impresses me more each day. He says he will fight for the citizens of Texas. Wednesday, he started to prove that by joining this lawsuit. If you've been looking for a Democrat with a backbone, then look no further. VanOs is your man.