DFA supports California Secretary of State Deb Bowen's stand for fair elections!

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

As you know, DFA-List candidate Deb Bowen was elected as California's Secretary of State last November with the enthusiastic backing of California for Democracy and DFA. One of the huge issues she ran on was election reform and ensuring that every Californian's vote is counted fairly and accurately.

Friday night, Deb Bowen courageously took a stand against questionable Diebold and Sequoia voting machines. Check out this excerpt from a recent Sacramento Bee article:

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, bowing to fears of computer fraud, Friday decertified Los Angeles County's electronic voting system and sharply curtailed the use of two other machines that California counties had hoped to use to conduct the February 2008 presidential primary.

She said she would allow unlimited use of one system, Hart InterCivic, as long as security and auditing safeguards are implemented.

But in the case of two major companies -- Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia Voting Systems -- Bowen said she would allow just one machine per polling place, apparently to provide an accessible option for disabled voters.

Electronic voting critics had unsuccessfully lobbied Bowen's predecessor to stop the machines' use in California. More than three dozen California counties have invested millions of dollars in the technology and some will be forced to replace many machines by February under Bowen's order.

"I reject the notion that I should not require changes in security simply because counties already own (the machines)," Bowen said.

DFA supports California Secretary of State Bowen 100% in her effort to ensure fair elections in California. We consider this a good first step towards restoring Californian's confidence in the American electoral system's integrity.

-Sheri Divers