FOLLOW-UP #1
HB 4653, "TX HAND-COUNTED PAPER BALLOT BILL OF 2009
1. If you haven't already done so, please contact TODAY the office of State Representative Donna Howard (the sponsor of the bill) to let her know you totally support HB 4653, the "TX Hand-Counted Paper Ballot Bill of 2009" and to thank her for standing up for the People of Texas who want our elections literally back in our hands! If you plan to attend the hearing on Monday to show your support, let her know this, too. You can call her office at (512) 463-0631 and leave your message with the person answering the phone - OR - send an email. The text of the bill can be found here.
2. We are trying to find out when the bill will be heard on Monday during the Elections Committee meeting. Often this is impossible to find out because even the Chair doesn't know until the day of the hearing. If you know you have limited time, it is very important that you at least plan to come to Room E2.028 at 1:45 PM on Monday to fill out a form that indicates your support for the bill. The forms are on a table in the back of the room. After you have filled it out, you must hand it to the Assistant Clerk of the Committee who sits up front at a desk on the left below where the committee members sit. We will have representatives from VoteRescue in the room to help with questions. After you hand in your signed form, you can either leave immediately or stay as long as you can. The Chair will read your name and your position on the bill into the public record even if you have left.
If you have an open schedule Monday afternoon and can stay until the bill comes up, please consider indicating on the form that you would like to speak to the Committee in favor of the bill. The email about the hearing we sent out yesterday included a list of talking points. It's always best to keep your remarks concise and on topic. If the turnout is large - which we certainly anticipate - the Chair may limit each person's testimony to three minutes. Know that sometimes the wait can be hours long. We certainly understand if you can't stay past a certain time before your name is called. Your coming to visibly show your support for HB 4653 is extremely important in itself.
To see an example of presenting testimony, you can view the archived video of the testimony that VoteRescue gave this past Monday night, Aug. 20th, in opposition to Rep. Anchia's bill, HB 2524, a misguided and useless effort to make Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting systems more secure.
The video is on the Legislature's website. Click on the broadcast date of 4/20/09 on the left side of the page and when the video screen appears, move the time cursor so it is at 6:40, meaning 6 hours and 40 minutes after the hearing started. HB 2524 is introduced by Rep. Anchia in a minute or two, so hang in there. Vickie Karp testifies first, then Jenny Clark, Karen Renick and Kathleen Wynne. The discussion that follows clearly indicates that our concerns are being taken seriously. Now we have to have a show of numbers, so please come next Monday!