Dear Source:
Amazingly, a great hoax is being perpetuated in the territory but it is hardly noticed. Virgin Islanders struggle to balance their individual budgets while government officials debate how to close a looming budget deficit. The VI electorate must be too busy handling their own fiscal crises to be concerned with an upcoming election. Apparently, some electors have already been duped into thinking that 2014 election will be conducted without any snags. How could a smooth electoral process be expected with so much instability on the Board of Election (BOE)?
Certain BOE members are playing political games, pursuing agendas without any consideration for the democratic process. Specifically, their goal is to eliminate the option of using paperless (electronic) ballots and to have an exclusive paper ballot election with an optical scan voting system which can be easily manipulated. An electronic device called a DS200 will read the marked paper ballots and tally the result at each polling site. What happened to the opposition to electronic voting devices by the vociferous minority?
Prior to the local law being changed to allow a paper ballot option in 2012 election, there was a controversy involving provisional ballots. A legal challenge to use provisional ballots instead of casting ballots electronically was defeated in court. The BOE prevailed in this case. Subsequently, a few voters opted not to participate in the election process in protest of the direct recording electronic (DRE) system. Despite the claims about the DRE system being rigged, an overwhelming number of voters in 2010 electronically cast their ballots to ensure that a "watchdog" serves on the BOE. This was when the debacle of the BOE began.
Subsequent to 2010 election, the BOE has been fraught with chaos to a level that it is now labeled as "dysfunctional." There are unsuccessful candidates protesting the results of the last election, the process and integrity of the BOE. Since a new chairperson has been selected for the STX District BOE, the squabbles during meetings have escalated. Moreover, two BOE members persist in denigrating their colleagues and disrespecting the Attorney General publicly. They insist that the DRE machines used in 2012 election were illegal; yet, locks at a leased office have been illegally changed and a vehicle owned by the VI Election System has been improperly used. When will the drama cease?
Recall the tactics of the VI Action Group or its failed attempts in the past to influence the election system? Members of this political group, misguided by a BOE official, sought to have Sen. Hansen unseated from the 3oth Legislature and to have six BOE members be removed from their offices. Their effort to dismantle the STX BOE has shifted to discrediting the current election system and to spreading misinformation about the DS200. These electronic devices are being touted as the replacements for DRE machines. In actuality, these devices are tabulators but the promoters want you to believe that your ballots will be cast electronically. According to the "watchman" on the BOE, forty DS200 tabulators will be available in 2014 and we could look forward to a quick, flawless electronic count of paper ballots. Really?
Although DS200 machines are certified by the Electronic Assistance Commission (EAC), there have been reports of them malfunctioning during elections. These tabulators allow voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPA); however, the scanned paper ballots have to be manually recounted when the results from the DS200 machines are challenged. How long will a recount last? How many times a voter has to fill out a ballot until the DS200 Indicates that no correction is needed? It would be ironic for voters that had disdain for the DRE system to now have confidence in another electronic device, especially since DS200 tabulators have never been used in our election system.
Following the presidential election of 2000, the Help America Vote Act was enacted and monies were allocated for jurisdictions to modernize voting systems. A trend towards paperless elections sounds more modernized than reverting to paper ballots. Besides the 2012 election shows that the majority of voters prefer to cast their ballots electronically than to read and complete a paper ballot. Since there is no law that specifies that DS200 tabulators must be utilized, why didn’t the BOE obtained federal funds to purchase sufficient number of DRE machines that are VVPA compatible? Previously, voters clamored for updated DRE machines that print receipts like an ATM machines.
There is no perfect election system. Any electronic device can be hacked. The point is that the voting process should reflect the will of the majority and all persons should feel comfortable exercising their right to vote. Voting is also a privilege that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Why should I remain silent when the basic tenets of democracy are being trampled? Sincerely,
Verdel L. Petersen, St. Croix
