Date: January 8th, 2008

Dear Friends of Open Voting:

Wrong way: Take the ballots into a room where few people can see or understand what's going on, then come out and announce the results.

Right way: Conduct the tabulation in public where everyone can see and understand what's going on, and the results are apparent to everyone.

Wrong way: Use software code that only certain people sworn to secrecy can review

Right way: Use software code that is fully open to public scrutiny

Wrong way: Make the system as convoluted as possible and force the public to just trust the officials

Right way: Make the system as simple as we can

Wrong way: Print the voter's selections on little curled-up strips of paper that make it difficult to handle them and count them (try stacking up your grocery receipts) and the law says are NOT BALLOTS anyway

Right way: Print the voter's selections on regular-sized durable paper -- called a BALLOT -- that can be easily handled and counted

Wrong way: Force voters with disabilities to use a separate system where they can't verify their ballot and which may compromise their privacy

Right way: Give voters with disabilities the same system as everyone else with a printed ballot that looks exactly like everyone elses ballot, and make it possible for them to verify their ballot

It's no wonder people are up in arms about the voting system [1]. We are fed up!

This Saturday (Jan 12), we will demonstrate the right way to do these things. Cast the ballots privately, but count them in public. Use a system that enables voters with disabilities to vote with the same equipment. How about software code that is fully open to public scrutiny? We will show that too. We have been asked to provide software for a Democratic Party Straw Poll [2]. We intend to make the most of this demo [3] and maybe, just maybe, it will inspire someone with some major funding capabilities to step up to the plate.

In the mean time, we have been operating on about $6,000 per month. Thanks to our supporters, we met our goal of $12,000 for Nov-Dec and we were able to promote the cause of OPEN VOTING all over the country. There is more work to do and I have set a new goal of $12,000 by March. With luck, we won't have to rely so much on grassroots funding, but right now we must continue this work with what we have.

PLEASE DONATE NOW
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The PayPal button on our web site http://openvoting.org is probably the quickest and easiest. This is the address for PayPal: donation@openvotingconsortium.org

You may also use our Amazon account to contribute.
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T43MQSRHDPEDQ/102-0964310-0180917

If by check, please send to:
Open Voting Consortium
9560 Windrose Lane
Granite Bay, CA 95746

Thank you again for helping OVC to continue progressing toward the establishment of OPEN VOTING.

Alan Dechert
President, Open Voting Consortium
http://openvoting.org
alan@openvoting.org
9560 Windrose Lane
Granite Bay, CA 95746
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[1] see http://www.openvotingconsortium.org/ad/nyt-jan6.pdf (cover of New York Times Magazine)
text of article here http://gnosis.python-hosting.com/voting-project/January.2008/0011.html ... and there was another article yesterday in the NYT

[2] http://gnosis.python-hosting.com/voting-project/January.2008/0016.html

[3] http://gnosis.python-hosting.com/voting-project/January.2008/0017.html