Mission & Goals

Mission | Goals

Mission

Everything we do is aimed at improving Florida’s deeply flawed election system.
To this end, we undertake many activities:

	Compile and disseminate information on various voting systems, including cost, reliability, accessibility, security issues, federal and state certifications, and other pertinent information. We do this by close coordination with other election integrity activists across the state and the nation.
	Collect and analyze data on local, state, and federal elections. Disseminate our findings as widely as possible.
	Study local, state, and federal laws governing the conduct of elections. Keep up-to-date on changes in laws and regulations and their impact on the integrity of elections.
	Work with other grassroots election integrity groups and nonprofit organizations to develop an annual legislative agenda and coordinate lobbying efforts to promote passage of good legislation and in opposition to bad measures.
	Undertake public education efforts aimed at improving public understanding of the election system, its flaws, and possible solutions.
	Communicate with local and state elected officials on election issues. Share information on technology, legal issues, cost, and other factors.
	Observe local elections to ensure compliance with election laws and administrative rules and procedures; deter and document violations of law, machine failures, incompetence, or other problems; and collect information on turnout, polling place suitability, and poll worker training.

Goals and Objectives

Some of our positions and goals are as follows:

	We believe that optical-scan, paper-ballot voting has the potential to be the most cost-effective, reliable, and secure technology now available, but only with the following changes to Florida law:
	The implementation of statistically significant, pre-certification audits of paper ballots The reinstatement of full manual recounts in close races (full manual recounts under any condition were banned by the Florida legislature in 2005) The posting of ALL electronic audit logs on election night on each county’s elections website. The posting of all iterations of election results on election night on each county’s election website. The posting of all “poll tapes” (zero tapes and results tapes) from Early Voting, Absentee Voting, and Precinct Voting within 24 hours of the close of the polls on Election Night on each county’s elections website The guaranteed right of citizens to observe, without disrupting the election process, every stage of election procedures. The guaranteed right of citizens to understand and document a secure chain-of-custody for voting machines, paper ballots, and all removable electronic media (such as memory cards and cartridges that hold vote totals). The requirement that all codes, acronyms, etc. that are used on electronic audit logs be made available to the public so that they are easily understood by election officials and the public. The requirement that all electronic audit logs must identify the operator who is logged into the voting system at the time any action is performed.
	We believe that all voters, including the disabled and the elderly, should not have to choose between accessibility and verifiability.
	We believe that DRE (touch-screen) voting machines should be banned until technology exists to ensure that they are reliable and secure.
	We want open source code on all voting systems and the elimination of secret, proprietary programming.
	We believe that voting machine companies should have to disclose all political contributions and all payments to lobbyists, consultants, and others speaking on their behalf.
	We want an investigation of the voting-machine certification process in Florida.
	We want better procedures and management of elections by supervisors of elections offices. In practice we want the state to set requirements for secure handling of paper ballots and memory cards (chain-of-custody) and improved security measures with respect to the central tabulator. We want to expose fraudulent, incompetent, partisan, or non-secure practices.
	We want to prohibit participation in political campaigns by all elections personnel, including the secretary of state and the supervisors of elections. Further, we believe that supervisors of elections should be civil servants and not elected officials.
	We support the development of rational, nonpartisan criteria for redistricting and the establishment of a separate redistricting commission or committee, insulated from political pressure by the legislature, governor, or other groups, that will apply these standards to the redrawing of districts.
	We want to educate all Florida citizens and their political representatives about the elections process with the aim of increasing their participation in overseeing elections and elections officials.
	We want to create and disseminate a voter-awareness and education program in the public schools, colleges, and universities.
	We want to research election laws, rules, policies, and procedures in other states with the goal of achieving the best possible election process in Florida.
	We want to make our positions on election issues known to Florida legislators, give them reliable information on these issues, and generally advocate for better election laws, rules, policies and procedures.