Can you help us Save the Ballot Images of Over 11 Million Registered Voters in Florida and demand better for all Floridians!

We are asking our members of the Florida House and Senate to support the bill known as the Preservation of Ballots and Digital Images of Ballots bill HB1265/SB1698. We need them to support and advocate this bill be taken up by the committees.

We need all Florida Supervisors of Elections to preserve scanned digital ballot images in every election as a critical part of the election chain of custody.

Please take 1 (one) minute to send an instant message to your member of the Florida House and Senate.

THE PROBLEM:

When you vote, the voting machine takes a picture of your ballot. This picture is called a ballot image. Your votes are counted from the scanned image of the ballot, not from the paper ballot itself. The scanned ballot image should be saved as evidence of how you actually voted and how your votes were counted.

Federal law (52 USC 20701) and state law (Florida statute 119.011(12) require ALL election records to be saved for 22 months after an election, ballot images included. But shockingly, over half of Florida’s 67 counties are destroying ballot images immediately, including the state’s 8 largest counties. Just those 8 counties account for 55% of all votes in the state! Approximately 35 counties are destroying auditable evidence of election results! This represents over 11 million registered voters in Florida.

THE SOLUTION:

All Florida counties should follow the law and save their scanned ballot images. This will greatly reduce the opportunity for error and fraud. Saving ballot images will reduce cynicism and increase voter confidence in the outcome for all elections!

A tally of the results shown on the ballot images can be compared to the official results and the images can also be checked against the paper ballots.

Ballot images are a vital part of an evidence-based election.

Works cited and acknowledgements:

https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=72417

Here is the link to all the Supervisors to see who and who is not saving ballot images

Here is the link to the lawsuit

Here is the link to view the motion to dismiss the case

Here is the link to the final stipulation (they are not saving the original ballot images like we are asking for. They are only saving a secondary system of images which they already do under a recount if a presidential recount is required).

Here is the link to a county (Dane County, Wisconsin) which puts all ballot images online

Here is the link to the Ron Labasky email. He sent an email out to all SOE's that was misguided and contradicts what the ballot machine manufacturers stated about ballot images.

Here is the link to the manufacturer of the voting machines and their instructions for saving ballot images.

Here is our letter to the Secretary of State

Special acknowledgment of the team that worked on this: Jennifer Tanner, John Brakey, Susan Pynchon, Laurie Woodward Garcia, Ronald Matzner, Arlene Leaf, Mary Lawrence