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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September
12, 2006
Contact Matt Gewolb
516-521-2864 or matt@gailbuckner.com
Gail Buckner unveils verified voting initiative
As Secretary of State, Buckner will continue leadership on voting
paper trail
MACON
- Gail Buckner, Democratic nominee for Georgia Secretary of State,
announced Tuesday her commitment to equip the state's electronic
voting machines with a verifiable paper ballot.
"This
is a common sense measure that I proudly supported and perfected
as a lawmaker," said Buckner, a 16-year member of the Georgia House
of representatives. "Voter confidence in accurate tabulation is
tantamount to my commitment as your next Secretary of State to administer
our elections with common sense, fairness and justice for all."
Buckner
assumed a leading role in passing the final version of Senate Bill
500, which garnered unanimous approval by the 2006 General Assembly.
SB 500 established a pilot project in which machines outfitted with
a voter-verified paper trail will be used in three Georgia precincts
for the November General Election. Buckner inserted several amendments
to improve the legislation. The first provided that the state would
be the funding source for the project. Had such a stipulation not
been attached to the bill, the pilot precincts in Bibb, Camden,
and Cobb counties would have been left holding the tab. Another
amendment provided for open public hearings to debate the bill's
merits before legislative oversight committees.
Details
of how the system will be implemented will be formulated following
the public hearings, investigation and findings of the legislative
oversight panel and a commission that Buckner plans to appoint.
She will also hold roundtable discussions and public hearings in
each of Georgia's congressional districts before the 2007 session
of the General Assembly and will study the benefits of adding three
members to the State Elections Board.
Further study will address concerns about Georgia's voting process,
including: Is it safe? Is verification totally accurate? Are these
machines on a path to decertification? Can everyone use them? All
of these issues and their possible answers will be on the table
for consideration, Buckner said.
As
the most experienced public servant in the race for Georgia Secretary
of State, Gail Buckner will stay on the job until it gets done.
Read
the Buckner Plan for Verified Voting
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