Don't look now, but the Broward County Democrats down here in the Sunshine state has just fired the first broadside of the general election and saying they scored a direct hit is an understatement.  Led by their fiery Chair Mitch Ceasar, they have put together a video that crystallizes the issues of state GOP voter suppression and irregularities that defines their brand and takes advantage of the new election law mandating statewide ballot paper trails.

Kudos and thank yous go to Governor Richardson both for what he has done for voters in the state of New Mexico - and today for an oped he wrote which appeared in The Hill in support of  the paper ballot bill, The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007.  

In the November 2004 election, many New Mexico voters were forced to vote on paperless DREs.  True to form, these machines lost votes and added votes, and generally destroyed voter confidence in the elections process.  To address the situation, the Governor  proposed a plan to move the State of New Mexico to a paper ballot system.  Of course  he encountered resistance.  And it was very similar to the resistance  that Members of Congress are facing today for making our voting systems reliable and secure.  Change is bad.  It is costly. It can't be done. It can't be done quickly.

But with the Governor's leadership,  New Mexico converted to a paper ballot system in less than a year. This past  election the number of machine related voting problems dropped dramatically in New Mexico. We need that kind of leadership in Congress. Swift. Bold. Decisive.

cross posted at Daily Kos and GOTV blog

At the request of Virginia's registrars Gov. Kaine has amended the verified voting bill to delay it's enactment until July 1, 2008. This means registrars can continue to buy the DRE machines until that date.