CPSR is pleased to announce the 2006 election results.    Thanks to all of you who voted!  All 6 board candidates and the bylaw change were approved overwhelmingly.  Here are the details:

BIOs for the new (and existing) board members and a new listing of  officers are available at http://www.cpsr.org/board

The bylaw change which allows for fewer board members passed with 108 in favor and 12 opposed.

For the first time, the CPSR board was elected electronically. CPSR's decision to conduct one experimental election online was not an endorsement of Internet voting for governmental elections. CPSR first called for all government elections to use reliable, paper ballots in 1989.  After evaluating this e-voting experiment, we will work with members (in particular our voting working group) to decide on a secure, convenient, and cost-effective way to handle next year's elections.  Also, please note our statement on Internet voting later in this newsletter.

CPSR is pleased to announce the lease of a new office at 1370 Mission Street in San Francisco.  It is on a floor shared with other technology-based activist organizations, and also less expensive than our former headquarters in Palo Alto.  The board unanimously amended the bylaws at its recent meeting to allow this move.

All mail should still be sent to Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, P.O. Box 717, Palo Alto, California 94302 USA until the contact information is updated on our contact information page <http://www.cpsr.org/about/#contact>.

For the last several years CPSR has employed a Managing Director, Susan Evoy, who has been the primary staff member of the organization, in recent years at a half-time level.  In the last year we have also employed a part-time Webmaster, DiHuyen van Ho.  Both budget and effectiveness considerations have led us to change our staff structure to consist, instead, of just one position with the title Communication Director.  This position will replace both the Managing Director and Webmaster positions, and we have defined a new set of responsibilities for the Communication Director along with a new board-staff supervisory relationship.

Susan Evoy, who has been with CPSR since the early 1990s, has decided not to make the transition to Communication Director in our new location in San Francisco, and is therefore leaving CPSR.  We all wish Susan the best and will be working to help her in her future endeavors.  She has been a loyal and valued Managing Director and has gotten to know many of our members over the years.  Susan also carries a lot of institutional memory and know-how with her, and we will miss having access to that as we move forward.

Therefore, we are actively recruiting someone to fill this new Communication Director role. Existing members are encouraged to apply themselves or spread the announcement (in the following section) to colleagues or groups who may be interested.

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (www.cpsr.org) seeks a part-time Communication Director for its San Francisco office. The Communication Director will be responsible for both the day-to-day office operations of CPSR and for being the organization's primary liaison between CPSR members and other organizations, the press, and the public. On the day-to-day side, the CD will maintain the organization's financial budget, help organize board meetings and conferences, and maintain records for writing the CPSR annual report. In large part, however, the CD will work as an activist on CPSR's issues, following debates within our space, writing press releases or blog posts on relevant issues, and working to bring more members to the organization. The CD will also write the organization's weekly newsletter. Experience with organizing conferences and outreach campaigns would be helpful. Applicants must also be competent with content management software (we use Plone), and have experience with online activism (including familiarity with blogging software, wikis, and e-mail campaigns).

CPSR is a progressive, global organization aimed at helping computer scientists, engineers and technologists promote the responsible use of computer technology. Founded in 1981, CPSR educates policymakers and the public on a wide range of issues, including electronic privacy, online civil liberties, access to technology in developing nations, voting technology, and green technology.

The position starts at 24 hours/week and offers bonuses for expanding our membership and donations.

To apply, send your resume, cover letter, and two writing samples (these may be blog posts) to jobs(at)cpsr.org. No calls, please. Deadline for receipt of applications is August 9.

To counter some confusion regarding our recent e-voting experimentation, we released the following policy statement on July 20:

Computing Professionals for Social Responsibility has as its core mission to engage in policy discussions on the development and use of computers within society.  This mission recognizes that ultimately those decisions to adopt or reject integration of computing to provide benefits, policing functions, or services have far-reaching consequences. In CPSR's effort to develop sound public policy and good corporate practices we have challenged policy and decision makers to address the hard questions regarding the implications for privacy, civil liberty, and human rights when adopting computing technology.

In recent years, one of the most intense and conflict driven debates is over the adoption of computing technology intended for use in public elections. Electronic voting had long been a point of concern for technologists who were practitioners in the area of electronic voting, but only recently emerged as a policy issue with the adoption of electronic voting systems for public elections.

Public elections require voter privacy and a secret ballot to ensure that coercion and fraud are discouraged to the greatest degree practicable. For this reason, CPSR recognizes that at this point in time public elections could not be assured by the adoption of paperless voting systems.  Our position has and continues to be that the use of electronic voting without a paper audit trail for government elections, including municipal, state, and national elections is ill advised. Further, it is our position that Internet voting is not appropriate for public elections, or any other election where voter privacy and ballot secrecy is essential.

As a nonprofit organization, without the same constraints as public elections, such as the requirement of secret ballots and voter privacy, CPSR is free to engage in experimentation of new voting systems. One such effort occurred the summer of 2006 with the election of new board members. It was determined by the board that Internet voting would be a cost-effective way to encourage our members to participate in the elections. The participation of members in the governance of CPSR is of tremendous importance to the health of our organization.  Making the voting process as accessible as possible for members of CPSR is the highest objective of the Board.

CPSR voter participation in the election was about 19 percent of the membership, which is roughly the same participation from last year's election.

Our decision to conduct one experimental election online was not an endorsement of Internet voting for government elections, nor was it an endorsement of specific software. We will continue to seek out the most appropriate means of engaging the largest number of our members in the governing decisions of the organization.

The CPSR Compiler is a monthly notice with short updates on recent activities of our members and opportunities to engage in the development of the public voice through CPSR projects.

To report news for future issues, send a sentence or two (and URL if available) to cpsr (at) cpsr.org

CPSR provides a discussion and project space where individuals can contribute to the public debate and design of our global digital future. Through CPSR's chapters and working groups, members focus on regional and civic issues developing the public voice. To insure a democratic future in a time of intense globalization, the voice of the public must command a prominent position on the world stage. CPSR frames and channels the public voice.

When in doubt about how to get more out of your CPSR membership, contact cpsr (at) cpsr.org or refer to the Activists Handbook to get help in getting the most out of your membership.

To get involved in policy work through CPSR, consider joining one of CPSR's Working Groups or contact cpsr (a) cpsr.org about starting a new one.

CPSR-Activists is the main members forum of CPSR, where the board and members discuss current policy and organizational issues. Only subscribed members can post to this list

(c) Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility 2006. Redistribution of this email publication - both internally and externally - is encouraged if it includes this paragraph.

CPSR is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.  Donations are tax deductible.

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The CPSR Compiler is emailed to CPSR members in good standing, who have provided CPSR with their email address.