Can America Trust Electronic Voting?

Sacramento Bee ^ | November 23, 2003 | Freddie Oakley and John Oakley

[Scenic Sounds]

The recall election allowed California voters to express fundamental dissatisfaction with the status quo. That's democracy in action. But we should not take it for granted.

Coming to light now are serious concerns about the rush to adopt electronic voting systems, and why this may threaten the way our democracy works in the future. The reliability of California's voting systems was seriously questioned during the recall campaign. Some counties were caught in a transition between discredited punch-card ballot systems and new-wave systems that supposedly would put worries about how ballots are counted -- and which ballots are counted -- to rest for good.

[Bon mots]

I wouldn't be in a hurry to trust it... if someone has the handy-dandy Al Gore vote cheater software, they could steal an election like they almost nearly did last time.

[null and void]

Sounds pretty good. Who will decide what the standards are?

Ultimately the courts *sigh*.

They will, of course ban Spanish tag line speakers...

[Cathryn Crawford]

They will, of course ban Spanish tag line speakers...

No, some of us will never let that happen. LOL

And I agree. It will be the courts.

[Lazamataz]

Potencia a la gente

Ludi duraki.

[Lazamataz]

Never! I'll never do it. Ever. I'm pretty stubborn. You may as well go ahead and give up now. LOL

*sugh* Very well. Let the bloodshed begin.

Just think. They could have been saved.

[Lazamataz]

They will, of course ban Spanish tag line speakers...

Your prescient view and party loyalty will be rewarded. Meet the NEW GOVERNOR OF THE UKRAINE!

[Cathryn Crawford]

Just think. They could have been saved.

Oh, well.

:-)

[null and void]

Da Tovarisch!

[Lazamataz]

Oh, well. :-)

No concern about your innocent comrades. How like you Spanish-Language Terrorists.

Well, perhaps we'll make this a little more personal. We'll round up certain members of your family.

What's that? You'll pay for the ammunition? Hm. Okay, that won't work.

*I KNOW*! We'll ban books. muhuhuhuHUHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

ABANDON YOUR EVIL FOREIGN LANGUAGE WAYS OR THERE SHALL BE NO BOOKS!

[Cathryn Crawford]

ABANDON YOUR EVIL FOREIGN LANGUAGE WAYS OR THERE SHALL BE NO BOOKS!

Gulp.

[Scenic Sounds]

El gulpo grande! ;-)

[Cathryn Crawford]

El gulpo grande! ;-)

ROFLMAO!

Much more creative.

[Lazamataz]

Gulp.

Ah, I see we are starting to gain some traction. Maybe now you towel-wearing mountain-dwelling Spanish Language Tagline Terrorists (The S.L.T.T. for short) will stop firing RPG's at our convoys.

Your nation stands ready to embrace you back into her population. Discard your insurgency and we can begin printing books again. We promise amnesty for all your followers. As leaders, you will face a little punishment, but it will be for show purposes only -- to discourage upstart terrorist organizations such as the French Language Billboard Advocates (F.L.B.A.)

[Cathryn Crawford]

Ah, I see we are starting to gain some traction. Maybe now you towel-wearing mountain-dwelling Spanish Language Tagline Terrorists (The S.L.T.T. for short) will stop firing RPG's at our convoys.

Actually, we will never surrender or retreat. Our brief hesitation has been replaced by even greater determination.

Power to the people!

[Lazamataz]

Power to the people!

And who are the people? The people are fools. You would hand power to overweight Jerry Springer fans who sit in darkened rooms in their underwear and flatulate. No, ours has a higher purpose.

Actually, we will never surrender or retreat. Our brief hesitation has been replaced by even greater determination.

Does a mountain waver? Does a sequoia hesitate? This shows that yours is a passing, transient terrorist group. Our government will stand long after the SLTT is relegated to history books.

That's because our government can do this.

That's right. We can dress pigs up like soldiers and give Osama Bin Laden a puppy.

Fear us.

[Blue Collar Christian]

"Voting rights should be strictly limited to a person who is at least 35..."

I agree, but would allow exception for people who become conservative at a younger age. ;o)

[GOPJ]

Electronic Voting allow Democrats the ability to throw away the old ice pick (for punching out chads) and move into a world of fast, quick and untraceable cheating.

(SST1) Totalitarian State Step 1 - accomplished.

[GOPJ]

Totalitarian State Step 1 (SST1) - accomplished.

Democrats can throw away the ice pick and move into the world of fast, quick, and untraceable cheating thanks to electronic voting.

The media didn't cover the downside of electronic voting. That was a hint.

When the media doesn't cover it, it's because the dems don't want it covered.

[leprechaun9]

There are many court cases involving VOTER FRAUD WITH THE USE OF ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES!

In some cases, the machines were equipped with modems so that the voting could be monitored. This is very useful for getting out the vote on Election Day in close races!

[DustyMoment]

Without an audit trail, I believe that the "one man, one vote" ideal becomes a smoke 'n mirrors image.

Plus, if you re-read my post, I never said that we shouldn't use the technology. What I said was that, based on comments I have seen posted here at FR, the technology appears to be rife for fraud. I am particularly concerned when elections administrators and politicians oppose the notion of an audit trail.