November, 12 2010, 02:58pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Paul Fidalgo, Communications Director,
paul(at)fairvote.org, (301) 270-4616
Suffragium Ex Machina: Voting Machine Monopolies and a Different Kind of Public Option
A FairVote Innovative Analysis by Rob Richie
WASHINGTON
In a Nutshell:
FairVote is well known for our advocacy of better electoral
methods and improvements to the way people vote when they go into the
polling place that foster equality and choice. But what happens before
and after a ballot is filled out can be critically important as well--if
votes aren't counted, using a fair voting method won't make a
difference. Today the machinery of American democracy (literally) is
increasingly dependent on one large corporation with little interest in
transparency, competition or innovations that might affect its bottom
line. For years FairVote has proposed publicly controlled voting
processes, ideally with transparent administration and clear lines of
accountability grounded in publicly owned voting equipment. As FairVote
called for in a November 8 letter in the New York Times,
at the very least the concept of a "public option" needs to be
transposed to the often-murky debate over voting equipment, ensuring
that our local and state governments always have a public interest
alternative. We also should revamp certification processes to improve
equipment, encourage transparency and reward innovation.
Our Analysis:
In September, the United States' largest voting equipment vendor Election Systems & Software (ES&S) announced the purchase
of Premier Election Solutions, our nation's second largest vendor--and a
product of the Diebold Corporation's North American operations. If this
sale goes forward, ES&S will control a huge majority of the voting
equipment market in the United States. According to Verified Voting,
more than 120 million registered voters live in American jurisdictions
using one of these two companies' systems. In contrast, the nation's
third largest elections vendor, Sequoia Voting Systems, provides
equipment in jurisdictions with only some 26 million registered voters
(and seems to be on shaky ground, having been sold several times in
recent years and still waiting to have its latest optical scan system
certified by the federal Election Assistance Commission). ES&S--then
called American Information Systems--previously attempted to consolidate
the voting industry in 1997 with a purchase of Business Records
Corporation (BRC), but the U.S. Department of Justice on anti-trust grounds required that acquisition of BRC be split between ES&S and Sequoia. Some groups like Voter Action
are seeking to hold vendors legally accountable for past failures to
uphold election integrity, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, chair of the Senate
Rules committee, has announced his intention to conduct a review of this
latest merger through his Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
An October 29 New York Times editorial
rightly sounded the alarm on this dubious bit of conglomeration,
calling upon the Justice Department and state attorneys general to take
action to block the sale, writing, "We fear that if any one voting
machine maker is allowed to dominate the market, there will be even
greater reasons to worry about the nation's flawed voting system." In a
response,
ES&S president Aldo Tesi wrote, "Citizens should be confident that
local officials administer fair and honest elections. As our customers,
we know they are." This is a misdirection, because it's not the local
officials that monopolize the very mechanisms by which our democracy
runs, and it is not they who are being criticized by the Times--it's companies like Tesi's ES&S.
The Times' description of our voting apparatus as
"flawed" is accurate mainly because we run democracy on the cheap at the
national level, and pay for it with lost votes, untrustworthy software
and exorbitant costs for public interest improvements, mainly due to
companies recouping expenses by abusing their local monopolies. FairVote
has long suggested a full public ownership model,
similar to that of Oklahoma and those of other nations. Along these
lines, we should at least pursue a "public option" to compete with
private vendors. We can also consider additional ways to gain control of
the election process and foster better, more reliable equipment.
Looking forward, one interim step would address a glaring
problem: the process of certifying equipment. To open up the market to
more competitors and secure certain basic rights of transparency and
quality control, the public should pay for at least some of the costs of
certification in exchange for more control over the product. Better
certification processes for voting equipment of course are absolutely
essential, as underscored by more rigorous certification processes in
recent years that have exposed major problems with proposed equipment.
Election results also continue to demonstrate how systems already
certified for our most important elections can have serious flaws. For
example, the Humboldt County (CA) Election Transparency Project discovered that a Premier/Diebold optical scan paper ballot system dropped 197 ballots in 2008, while a FairVote analysis earlier this year found that the same system dropped 0.4% of ballots in an election in Aspen (CO).
But companies have to scramble to keep up with each new
revelation and each new good idea for updating certification standards
at the federal and state level, which can stretch out the timeline for
certification and greatly increase costs. Paying for companies'
certification expenses would cost taxpayer dollars, of course, and
should have reasonable limits that avoid frivolous costs and vendors
using the certification process to allow onto the market equipment and
software they know is flawed. But any upfront costs promise to pay big
dividends for our democracy in the long term. It would allow new
companies to get a competitive product on the market before they know
for sure they will be able to sell it--resolving the catch-22 that today
makes it so difficult for any new company to compete with the dominant,
entrenched companies. It also would make it easier to justify ongoing
updates to the voting standards, rather than essentially adding new
"unfunded mandates" on the vendors who either go out of business or,
more typically, give up after barely getting started. The quality of
voting equipment and software should also rise as companies would be
required to do more than just "get by," and county and state governments
would pay less for better equipment and upgrades--right now they
typically face excessive fees for equipment, ongoing services and
upgrades from vendors trying to recoup their certification costs and
able to take advantage of their near monopoly of the industry.
In exchange for paying for the certification process, the public
would need to secure greater rights of transparency and general
ownership of the process. For example, New York State's latest contracts
for new equipment include a sensible provision that any additional
contracts for services and new features involving the equipment will be
open to competitive bidding, rather than the jurisdiction simply having
to accept the vendor's monopoly power. Taxpayers also should require
much greater access to the software code, if not full open source
software, as well as a requirement for "modular" components that would
make it easier to piece together separately certified systems for an
election, rather than relying on just one company for all election
services.
Exclusive focus on pre-election certification will never be
sufficient, as we must also focus on post-election verification and
audits. By verifying all election counts, the certification process
would become part of a "belt and suspenders" approach. With the latest
optical scan paper ballot systems having the capacity to create
redundant records of every ballot, these records can be made publicly
available, as they are in cities from San Francisco (CA) to Burlington
(VT). When coupled with manual audits and appropriate privacy
safeguards, they will allow the public to verify vote tallies and
immediately identify errors.
The bottom line is that the existing regime is broken. Let's
stop outsourcing democracy and make sure that citizens are in control.
_ _ _ _
Other notable links:
- Press Release: Report: Widely Used Voting Machine Missed 0.4% of Ballots
- Former FairVote intern Andrew Price blogs: Clogging the Feedback Loop: Voting Systems Regulation Dysfunction
- FairVote Position on Voting Equipment, Election Integrity & Auditability
FairVote acts to transform our elections to achieve universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful ballot choices and majority rule with fair representation for all. As a catalyst for change, we build support for innovative strategies to win a constitutionally protected right to vote, universal voter registration, a national popular vote for president, instant runoff voting and proportional representation.
LATEST NEWS
National Team Member Becomes at Least 265th Palestinian Footballer Killed by Israel in Gaza
Muhannad al-Lili's killing by Israeli airstrike came as the world mourned the death of Portugal and Liverpool star Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a car crash in Spain.
Jul 04, 2025
Muhannad Fadl al-Lili, captain of the Al-Maghazi Services Club and a member of Palestine's national football team, died Thursday from injuries suffered during an Israeli airstrike on his family home in the central Gaza Strip earlier this week, making him the latest of hundreds of Palestinian athletes killed since the start of Israel's genocidal onslaught.
Al-Maghazi Services Club announced al-Lili's death in a Facebook tribute offering condolences to "his family, relatives, friends, and colleagues" and asking "Allah to shower him with his mercy."
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) said that "on Monday, a drone fired a missile at Muhannad's room on the third floor of his house, which led to severe bleeding in the skull."
"During the war of extermination against our people, Muhannad tried to travel outside Gaza to catch up with his wife, who left the strip for Norway on a work mission before the outbreak of the war," the association added. "But he failed to do so, and was deprived of seeing his eldest son, who was born outside the Gaza Strip."
According to the PFA, al-Lili is at least the 265th Palestinian footballer and 585th athlete to be killed by Israeli forces since they launched their assault and siege on Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Sports journalist Leyla Hamed says 439 Palestinian footballers have been killed by Israel.
Overall, Israel's war—which is the subject of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case—has left more than 206,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing, and around 2 million more forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened, according to Gaza officials.
The Palestine Chronicle contrasted the worldwide press coverage of the car crash deaths of Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva with the media's relative silence following al-Lili's killing.
"Jota's death was a tragedy that touched millions," the outlet wrote. "Yet the death of Muhannad al-Lili... was met with near-total silence from global sports media."
Last week, a group of legal experts including two United Nations special rapporteurs appealed to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the world football governing body, demanding that its Governance Audit and Compliance Committee take action against the Israel Football Association for violating FIFA rules by playing matches on occupied Palestinian territory.
In July 2024, the ICJ found that Israel's then-57-year occupation of Palestine—including Gaza—is an illegal form of apartheid that should be ended as soon as possible.
During their invasion and occupation of Gaza, Israeli forces have also used sporting facilities including Yarmouk Stadium for the detention of Palestinian men, women, and children—many of whom have reported torture and other abuse at the hands of their captors.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Highly Inspiring' Court Ruling Affirms Nations' Legal Duty to Combat Climate Emergency
"While the United States and some other major polluters have chosen to ignore climate science, the rest of the international community is advancing protections," said one observer.
Jul 04, 2025
In a landmark advisory opinion published Thursday, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights—of which the United States, the world's second-biggest carbon polluter, is not a member—affirmed the right to a stable climate and underscored nations' duty to act to protect it and address the worsening planetary emergency.
"States must refrain from any conduct that reverses, slows down, or truncates the outcome of measures necessary to protect human rights in the face of the impacts of climate change," a summary of the 234-page ruling states. "Any rollback of climate or environmental policies that affect human rights must be exceptional, duly justified based on objective criteria, and comply with standards of necessity and proportionality."
"The court also held that... states must take all necessary measures to reduce the risks arising, on the one hand, from the degradation of the global climate system and, on the other, from exposure and vulnerability to the effects of such degradation," the summary adds.
"States must refrain from any conduct that reverses, slows down, or truncates the outcome of measures necessary to protect human rights in the face of the impacts of climate change."
The case was brought before the Costa-Rica based IACtHR by Chile and Colombia, both of which "face the daily challenge of dealing with the consequences of the climate emergency, including the proliferation of droughts, floods, landslides, and fires, among others."
"These phenomena highlight the need to respond urgently and based on the principles of equity, justice, cooperation, and sustainability, with a human rights-based approach," the court asserted.
IACtHR President Judge Nancy Hernández López said following the ruling that "states must not only refrain from causing significant environmental damage but have the positive obligation to take measures to guarantee the protection, restoration, and regeneration of ecosystems."
"Causing massive and irreversible environmental harm...alters the conditions for a healthy life on Earth to such an extent that it creates consequences of existential proportions," she added. "Therefore, it demands universal and effective legal responses."
The advisory opinion builds on two landmark decisions last year. In April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Swiss government violated senior citizens' human rights by refusing to abide by scientists' warnings to rapidly phase out fossil fuel production.
The following month, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea found in an advisory opinion that greenhouse gas emissions are marine pollution under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and that signatories to the accord "have the specific obligation to adopt laws and regulations to prevent, reduce, and control" them.
The IACtHR advisory opinion is expected to boost climate and human rights lawsuits throughout the Americas, and to impact talks ahead of November's United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30, in Belém, Brazil.
Climate defenders around the world hailed Thursday's advisory opinion, with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calling it "a landmark step forward for the region—and beyond."
"As the impact of climate change becomes ever more visible across the world, the court is clear: People have a right to a stable climate and a healthy environment," Türk added. "States have a bedrock obligation under international law not to take steps that cause irreversible climate and environmental damage, and they have a duty to act urgently to take the necessary measures to protect the lives and rights of everyone—both those alive now and the interests of future generations."
Amnesty International head of strategic litigation Mandi Mudarikwa said, "Today, the Inter-American Court affirmed and clarified the obligations of states to respect, ensure, prevent, and cooperate in order to realize human rights in the context of the climate crisis."
"Crucially, the court recognized the autonomous right to a healthy climate for both individuals and communities, linked to the right to a healthy environment," Mudarikwa added. "The court also underscored the obligation of states to protect cross-border climate-displaced persons, including through the issuance of humanitarian visas and protection from deportation."
Delta Merner, lead scientist at the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement that "this opinion sets an important precedent affirming that governments have a legal duty to regulate corporate conduct that drives climate harm."
"Though the United States is not a party to the treaty governing the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, this opinion should be a clarion call for transnational fossil fuel companies that have deceived the public for decades about the risks of their products," Merner added. "The era of accountability is here."
Markus Gehring, a fellow and director of studies in law at Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge in England, called the advisory opinion "highly inspiring" and "seminal."
Drew Caputo, vice president of litigation for lands, wildlife, and oceans at Earthjustice, said that "the Inter-American Court's ruling makes clear that climate change is an overriding threat to human rights in the world."
"Governments must act to cut carbon emissions drastically," Caputo stressed. "While the United States and some other major polluters have chosen to ignore climate science, the rest of the international community is advancing protections for all from the realities of climate harm."
Climate litigation is increasing globally in the wake of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. In the Americas, Indigenous peoples, children, and green groups are among those who have been seeking climate justice via litigation.
However, in the United States, instead of acknowledging the climate emergency, President Donald Trump has declared an "energy emergency" while pursuing a "drill, baby, drill" policy of fossil fuel extraction and expansion.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump Admin Quietly Approves Massive Crude Oil Expansion Project
"This thinly analyzed decision threatens the lifeblood of the American Southwest," said one environmental attorney.
Jul 04, 2025
The Trump administration has quietly fast-tracked a massive oil expansion project that environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers warned could have a destructive impact on local communities and the climate.
As reported recently by the Oil and Gas Journal, the plan "involves expanding the Wildcat Loadout Facility, a key transfer point for moving Uinta basin crude oil to rail lines that transport it to refineries along the Gulf Coast."
The goal of the plan is to transfer an additional 70,000 barrels of oil per day from the Wildcat Loadout Facility, which is located in Utah, down to the Gulf Coast refineries via a route that runs along the Colorado River. Controversially, the Trump administration is also plowing ahead with the project by invoking emergency powers to address energy shortages despite the fact that the United States for the last couple of years has been producing record levels of domestic oil.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) issued a joint statement condemning the Trump administration's push to approve the project while rushing through environmental impact reviews.
"The Bureau of Land Management's decision to fast-track the Wildcat Loadout expansion—a project that would transport an additional 70,000 barrels of crude oil on train tracks along the Colorado River—using emergency procedures is profoundly flawed," the Colorado Democrats said. "These procedures give the agency just 14 days to complete an environmental review—with no opportunity for public input or administrative appeal—despite the project's clear risks to Colorado. There is no credible energy emergency to justify bypassing public involvement and environmental safeguards. The United States is currently producing more oil and gas than any country in the world."
On Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management announced the completion of its accelerated environmental review of the project, drawing condemnation from climate advocates.
Wendy Park, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, described the administration's rush to approve the project as "pure hubris," especially given its "refusal to hear community concerns about oil spill risks." She added that "this fast-tracked review breezed past vital protections for clean air, public safety and endangered species."
Landon Newell, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, accused the Trump administration of manufacturing an energy emergency to justify plans that could have a dire impact on local habitats.
"This thinly analyzed decision threatens the lifeblood of the American Southwest by authorizing the transport of more than 1 billion gallons annually of additional oil on railcars traveling alongside the Colorado River," he said. "Any derailment and oil spill would have a devastating impact on the Colorado River and the communities and ecosystems that rely upon it."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular