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Saturday, September 30, The officers and Executive Board members of The Texas Alliance for Retired Americans met in Austin to address concerns of members regarding the November election. Because this election is the first to be largely conducted using electronic voting machines with no paper trail available to allow a viable recount, it was decided to strongly encourage all 80,000 Texas members who qualify, to both vote by mail ("absentee vote"), and encourage and assist nonmembers who may also qualify.
The process is not complicated, but certain rules regarding assistance and handling must be followed, including the signing of the ballot application if you assist another to request a ballot. Because of the potential for a compromised election, through an error rate of as much as nine (9%) percent, and a demonstrated ability of hackers to either place a virus in a machine for distribution by unwitting poll workers or hack into and change one machines registration of votes with little more than an enhanced cellular phone, we feel the only alternative to a disaster on election day, is a mail vote, which has the virtue of a paper trail. In the absence of a viable paper trail, the public may never know if an election was conducted correctly.
We strongly recommend that all Alliance members who qualify vote by mail. (Over 65, or disabled or otherwise unable to attend the polls.) And also, we ask that those who can assist those who may not be able to complete their application or ballot. An individual may assist as many as twenty individuals with filling out their application or ballot, however, an individual can only "witness" one. Help can also be given in mailing the sealed ballot for a disabled person. Be aware, the last day to request a mail ballot is October 31 and the completed ballot must be in the Elections Authority Office on Tuesdav, November 7. Follow the simple sequence of requesting an application, returning the application to request the ballot, receiving and completing the ballot, mailing the ballot to arrive before November 7. Follow all instructions carefully, to ensure your vote is counted and counts!
--Victor Pauly, President, Texas Alliance for Retired Americans
President Victor Pauly (blue shirt) posed with members of the TARA Executive Board on September 30. The photographer is in the inset at lower left
For Instructions on Voting, click here