Burnt Orange Report

VOTEXAS.ORG: It's Not A Hubert Vo Campaign Website...

By Vince Leibowitz

I'm sitting around waiting to watch 60 Minutes to see what Kinky Friedman has to say and suddenly, I see Texas Secretary of State Roger William's face on the television screen in a commercial talking about voting in Texas and how it's "Easier. Faster. More Secure." Then, a url flashes on screen, and I think it says "votetexas.org." Well, it didn't, because there are no such sites. It was actually "votexas.org," supposed to be a cute play on words, I guess.

I immediately know the website is a one of those things to make us feel better about electronic voting. And, it is, but it's very well hidden within the website.

It's on the "Special Events" page, actually:

To effectively implement and educate Texans on the Help America Vote Act, Secretary of State Roger Williams is kicking off the VOTEXAS program with a three-day, nine-city tour of Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Edinburg, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock and San Antonio. Over the three-day event, the Secretary is unveiling the most sweeping changes in election law Texas has seen in four decades.

Now, nowhere does it say "electronic voting," but what else could it mean? This is just a lame attempt to make people feel better about e-voting. How much the commercials and the site are costing the taxpayers of Texas, I have no idea. I immediately decided the site was worthless when I found, in the FAQ section, a notice that the site doesn't list polling places although it has a little button that actually says "polling places." It refers readers to their local newspapers or elections offices. Gee, how handy.