Letter in vain

So, I wrote to the New York Times today in response to an article detailing the US Govt's impatience with the New York State Board of Elections. It won't get published so I might as well put it here - its an echo of the posts below, really:

To: letters@nytimes.com
Subject: Voting Standards for New York

Dear Editor,

In (U.S. Threatens to Sue Albany Over Voting, NYT, Thursday January 12th), Michael Cooper notes that, "The Board of Elections is still hearing public comments about what kind of standards to require for voting machines.".

The New York State Board of Elections should follow the lead of Wisconsin in requiring that all voting machines use free or open source software. This will ensure a minimum level of transparency for the electoral process. Citizens do not hesitate to ask for transcripts of court proceedings, Congressional hearings or records of other governmental functions. So why not ask that the management of elections, a governmental process, be as open as possible?

best,
Samir Chopra