PRC Candidate David Bacon Calls for Audit of 2006 NM Election

From David Bacon, Green Party candidate, PRC District 4:
David Bacon's campaign sent the following letter this morning, asking Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and county clerks to conduct a 2% random audit of machines used to tally the votes in this election. A law was passed requiring such audits, but the law does not take effect until next year.

"It is the primary duty of state and county elections officials to assure that elections are conducted transparently, and that votes are counted accurately," says David Bacon. "All we are asking for is a 2% random audit, to make sure the new scanners and tabulators are functioning properly. With the new paper ballots, a hand count will be simple enough to accomplish, and is a small price to pay to assure accurate results and to ascertain citizen confidence in our election system."

This letter was emailed to the Secretary of State and county clerks this morning, October 30:

Dear Secretary of State Vigil-Giron,

It has recently come to my attention that your office is not planning to conduct a random audit of the November General Election. While I understand that you may not be legally required to do so, I urge you to conduct random audits of 2% of the scanners and tabulators in every county.

The move to paper ballots is a great accomplishment in restoring voter confidence in our elections and our government, and I applaud your office’s hard work in being ready to conduct the 2006 election using the new ballots and machines.

But without the audit, we have no way of knowing that the new scanners and tabulators are any more reliable than the machines they are replacing. The law authorizing the switch to an all paper system is insufficient in itself to assure voters that their votes will be counted accurately. An audit is a necessary final step to demonstrate the reliability of the new system.

In the sea of national news stories about the potential problems of electronic voting, New Mexico stands out as an island of certainty with our verifiable paper ballots. Please don't miss this opportunity to ascertain that our vote count is accurate by requiring a random audit of this election.

Sincerely,
David Bacon

From more information on story contact David Bacon at 505-920-5707 or Rick Lass at 505-920-0540