The plaintiffs in the suit -- numbering more than a dozen from around the state -- include J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the NAACP's Philadelphia Branch; Susanna Staas, former Chester County Republican Committeewoman; the Rev. James Moore, president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity; Rob McCord, chairman of the Eastern Technology Council; and Janis Hobbs-Pellechio, volunteer for the Bucks County group Coalition for Voting Integrity.
If the voter plaintiffs prevail in their request for a preliminary injunction, a total of 57 affected counties could still hold their November elections using paper ballots with optical scan readers.
"The very integrity of the election process is at stake here," said Mary Kohart, lead attorney for the plaintiffs and partner at law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. "In elections using these computerized voting systems, the machines can be subject to tampering and malfunctions where there is no independent record allowing either voters to verify their own votes or election officials to recount all votes if necessary."
The complaint details numerous breakdowns and loss of votes by machines that have been certified for use in Pennsylvania by the Secretary of State, according to a release. Incidents cited include the loss of votes in four precincts in Berks County last year, 10,000 votes in three Pennsylvania counties that were not counted in the 2004 Presidential election, and 200 machines in Philadelphia that experienced problems in the May 2006 primary. The complaint also details examples of lost votes in elections around the country from electronic voting machines.
"The General Assembly has specified that electronic voting machines must be absolutely accurate, they must be reliable and they must have a 'permanent physical record' before they can be used in Pennsylvania," said Michael Churchill, co-counsel for the plaintiffs and attorney with the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP). "With the all-electronic voting systems certified by the Secretary of State, it's impossible to ensure all votes are recorded and counted as intended by the voters."
