"CITIZENS 1, MICROSOFT 0"
THE BEHIND THE SCENES STORY & LESSONS OF ONE IMPORTANT FIGHT
IN THE BATTLE TO DETERMINE WHO WILL CONTROL AMERICAN ELECTIONS
PROVING CITIZENS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
...EVEN AGAINST POWERFUL CORPORATIONS & SPECIAL INTERESTS!
SPECIAL GUEST: BO LIPARI
Executive Director, New Yorkers for Verified Voting
“Every time you read a bill at the end of the session, you wonder if it’s a Trojan horse bearing gifts for lobbyists or campaign contributors,” said Richard Kirsch, the executive director of Citizen Action of New York, a government watchdog group.
In the hectic waning days of the New York Legislature session, Citizens Activists waited and watched for any sign that lobbyists for Computer Voting Machine Vendors would try to sneak through legislation to destroy some of the strictest, hard won, voting security legislation in the Country. As legislative sessions ran to 2AM and bills kept pouring out, information arrived about a seemingly innocent bill to "correct problems" related to New York's primary date. Lo and behold, attached was a "poison pill", a back door amendment drafted by Microsoft attorneys that would effectively gut the source code review protections provided in current NY law.
In the prior 2 months, Microsoft and the voting machine vendors had conducted a full court press in Albany, trying to make CITIZENS Election Law suit THEIR interests. Now they struck with strength and stealth. Who could oppose such power and influence? How could Citizens ramp up a campaign in a matter of 48 hours and make a difference?
Yet, at the close of the session, neither the Microsoft amendment nor any other proposals being pushed by voting machine vendor lobbyists made it into any of the thousands of bills passed in that last crazy week. The citizens of New York State stood up to these powerful private interests and won!
Tune in to hear Bo Lipari provide the details of how Citizens were activated to defeat this attack on their voting law, strategies employed, the critical determinants of success and just why it is that vendors are fighting so hard on this issue. A story of intrigue, determination and courage. Ultimately a lesson for all Americans as we seek to have OUR voices heard and heeded by OUR elected representatives, as we battle to determine that, as Abraham Lincoln noted, Elections belong to the People!
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Voice of the Voters is an hour devoted to voting rights, election reform. Ultimately it is an exploration of Representative Democracy itself and the responsibilities of citizens and their elected representatives. It airs every Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ET on 1360 AM and on the Internet. (http://wnjc.duxpond.com/) hosted by Mary Ann Gould, co-founder of CVI.
Note: If you use dial up Internet, it is best to turn off all other programs in order to receive clearest broadcast.
Voice of the Voters now also available as a podcast at iTunes.com under "Voice of the Voters" in the News & Politics category
Archived shows are available at http://mysite.verizon.net/resq4lzq/cvi/id267.html. Click here.
Guest Bio:
Bo Lipari
Executive Director, New Yorkers for Verified Voting Bo Lipari, a retired software engineer, developed software for both large and small companies throughout a 20 year career. In 2003 he became concerned about the rush to use touch screen electronic voting machines in our elections and began traveling, speaking and organizing all over New York State, alerting people to the problems with electronic voting, and the potential for compromising the integrity of our elections.
In 2004, Bo founded New Yorkers for Verified Voting (NYVV), a citizens group working for secure, reliable, accessible, and verifiable standards for voting systems and elections. NYVV has led the struggle in New York State for verifiable, auditable voting systems.
In May 2006, Bo was appointed as the League of Women Voters of New York State's representative to the NYS Citizen's Election Modernization Advisory Committee. Committee members will advise and assist the NYS Board of Elections in the examination of voting systems.
www.coalitionforvotingintegrity.org
