"The Paradox of Fair Elections: Private Votes, Public Counting" Voice of the Voters!

Wednesday, May 21, 8-9PM ET 1360 AM

Greater Philadelphia & on the Internet www.voiceofthevoters.org

Part I & II of The Constitution, Our Vote & Election 2008 now posted on website

Tonight Ellen Theisen of VotersUnite and Susan Pynchon of Florida Fair Elections Coalition offer a compelling analysis of the critical components/issues surrounding our election process in ensuring (or limiting) a Vibrant Democracy. Call in with your questions and comments.

How does the secret ballot make voting unlike any other "transaction?"

Why does the private vote make public counting necessary?

How public is our vote counting?

How private is our vote?

How does the paradox impact the various types of voting systems - DREs, optical scanners, mail-in ballots, hand counted paper ballots?

What to do?

Voice of the Voters! is hosted this week by Mary Ann Gould and Lori Rosolowsky with John Gideon of VotersUnite.Org providing important news update..

Listeners can call in questions live at 856-227-1360 and submit questions in advance at the Voice of the Voters! Website. Internet. Access also at http://wnjc.duxpond.com/

Archived Voice of the Voters! programs can be found at www.voiceofthevoters.org

Guest Bios:

Ellen Theisen, founder of VotersUnite.Org, is Co-Director and Managing Editor of VotersUnite! In her 22-year career as a software technical writer, she has written hundreds of user manuals, functional and design specifications, online help systems, and programmer guides. Ellen created and maintains the VotersUnite! website, developing most of the informational resources available on the site.

Susan Pynchon is the founder and executive director of Florida Fair Elections Coalition, based in Volusia County, Florida. Her fight for fair elections began in 2004 with her investigation into voting irregularities in Volusia County. Since then, she has worked full time as a volunteer investigator and reporter of the pitfalls of electronic voting systems. She has been featured in national print and broadcast media outlets, including Lou Dobbs Tonight and the Emmy-nominated documentary film, Hacking Democracy. She initiated and sponsored Florida's first statewide election reform conference in 2005, which has become an annual FFEC event and has helped to build an extensive network of voting reform groups and individuals around Florida. Pynchon and FFEC co-founder Kitty Garber conducted a year-long investigation of the 18,000 uncounted votes in the 2006 U.S. Congressional District 13 race in Sarasota County. That race, which was decided by a mere 369 votes, was the subject of two court cases, two state audits, and a U.S. Congressional investigation. Based on their forensic review of over 10,000 documents from that election, Pynchon and Garber concluded that massive failures of the electronic paperless touchscreen voting machines contributed to the lost votes, contradicting the findings of the state audits and the federal Government Accountability Office. Their report, "Sarasota's Vanished Votes," has been referenced in media reports and university studies about the controversial CD-13 race.

On May 17, Pynchon was one of four recipients of the Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award by the ACLU of Florida, an honor she shared with 3 other Florida election integrity activists: Kindra Muntz of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, and Pam Haengel, and Dan McCrea of the Florida Voters Coalition. The Poynter Award, which has been given annually for the past 29 years, is named for the former crusading editor of the St. Petersburg Times, who fought racial segregation, defended the right of a free press, exposed corruption in government, supported the rights of the elderly and the poor, and led the fight for the Sunshine Law, opening Florida's government to public scrutiny and accountability. Past recipients of the Poynter Award include the late Florida governor LeRoy Collins, who was recognized for his courageous leadership in upholding racial justice and opposing the death penalty; Florida Supreme Court Justice Gerald Kogan; Florida Bar Association President Chesterfield Smith; Immigrant Rights Attorney Cheryl Little; and, in 2007, author and columnist Carl Hiaasen.

Coalition for Voting Integrity