Washington, D.C. - infoZine - On Tuesday, June 21, the Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on publicly verifiable elections from VerifiedVoting.org Founder David Dill. Dill is a Stanford University Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and a nationally recognized expert on systems verification. He will recommend passage of federal legislation to require voter-verified paper records and routine mandatory audits of elections so that every vote is counted as cast.

"The debate about electronic voting should not be about election fraud but about performing independent checks on the conduct and results of elections so as to instill public confidence in our democratic system," said Professor Dill. "Voters have no means to confirm that paperless e-voting machines have recorded their votes correctly."

VerifiedVoting.org supports H.R.550, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, and S.330, the Voting Integrity and Verification Act, which would require that voting systems used in federal elections produce a voter-verified paper record that voters can inspect before casting their votes.

H.R.550 was introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and S.330 was introduced by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).

"Voting machines of all makes and models are malfunctioning routinely in nationwide elections," said VerifiedVoting.org Senior Political Advisor Bobbie Brinegar. "Voter-verified paper records provide the most reliable way to count votes accurately and to instill public confidence in election results whether the machines fail or function according to plan."

For example, a single paperless e-voting machine in Carteret County, North Carolina, permanently lost more than 4,400 votes in November, throwing a statewide race for Agricultural Commissioner into confusion.

A rapidly increasing number of states - 22 at last count - already have laws or policies requiring voter-verified paper records (Connecticut and Hawaii laws awaiting the governor's signature). Legislatures of an additional 16 states and the District of Columbia are considering voter-verified paper record laws.

On June 9-14, VerifiedVoting.org joined Common Cause, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Rock the Vote, VoteTrustUSA, VotersUnite.org, and Working Assets, in coordinating more that 80 Congressional visits from advocates representing at least 26 states and 65 congressional districts.