23 January 2004, from http://www.fairfaxco-gop.org/press.html#ballot

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 15, 2004 CONTACT: Eddie Page 703-766-4467

FAIRFAX GOP POSTS VOTING MACHINE INTEGRITY REPORT ON WEB SITE

Report Calls for an Independent Review of the New Voter Technology

Fairfax County, VA - The Fairfax County Republican Committee has posted Operation Ballot Integrity, a report outlining technological and systemic failures associated with the County's new Direct Recording Equipment used on Election Day.

Eddie Page, Chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee said, "this report reveals to the public that, no matter how advanced the technology, ballot integrity and voter confidence should never be compromised. Unfortunately, on November 4, 2003, the new Fairfax County Digital Voting Equipment raised questions about our most basic voting assumptions." "Voters want to make a difference, and they also want to know that their vote counts. However, the new technology, although promising at first, appears to leave too many unanswered questions. We can only hope that the county and state will resolve these important issues in the future," Page said.

To help with the challenges, the report outlines a series of recommendations needed to instill confidence in the voting process, including the establishment of a local or state independent study to review software, hardware, and failings associated with the Fairfax County voting machines.

Furthermore, the report recommends that the Virginia General Assembly enact laws to (1) require a voter-verified audit be incorporated into all state-certified voting systems; (2) create a targeted comparison of voter verified paper ballots with vote totals recorded on the Direct Recording Equipment; and (3) prohibit the removal of voting machines from polling places on Election Day.

The report can be found at:

http://www.fairfaxco-gop.org/download/ballot_integrity.pdf