RESOLUTION CALLING FOR HAND-COUNTING OF PAPER BALLOTS AND
DISCONTINUING USE OF DIEBOLD EQUIPMENT, HCDCC 2-13-08

 
WHEREAS, elections in Humboldt County rely on Diebold's (now
Premier) precinct-based optical scanners, and Diebold's GEMS central
tabulator program to combine all precinct results; and

WHEREAS, computer security experts have repeatedly demonstrated and
documented the ability to tamper with this equipment, changing
election results without leaving behind a trace of evidence; and

WHEREAS, academic studies have repeatedly demonstrated and
documented that security flaws in this equipment exist by design, and
cannot be remedied with "procedural mitigations", or new security
methods; and

WHEREAS, claims of "trade secrecy" prevent citizens, the media, and
even election officials from observing the inner workings of this
equipment, denying everyone the right to see their vote counted as
cast; and

WHEREAS, elections conducted under these conditions require blind
trust, or faith, to accept unverifiable and inherently uncertain
outcomes that provide no rational basis for confidence in the
reported results; and

WHEREAS, the County of Humboldt is free to choose not to use
Diebold's equipment, and is likewise not prevented from choosing to
hand-count paper ballots at poll sites on election night; and

WHEREAS, hand-counting paper ballots provides transparency,
security, and verifiable accuracy that creates a rational basis for
confidence in reported results; 
 
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Humboldt County Democratic
Central Committee hereby calls for Humboldt County to discontinue use
of Diebold equipment and to introduce hand-counting of all ballots no
later than the June 2008 primary election; 

AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the Humboldt County Democratic
Committee will commit resources to educating the community about the
benefits of this change, and to recruit registered voters to serve as
pollworkers and/or vote counters 

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