Legacy voting machines ripe for tampering, breakdowns

GCN ^ | 12/22/2015 | Derek Major

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

My town and many others in this state are using optical readers with paper ballots that are over 25 years old.

There have been no calls to replace them since they are built like a A-10 Thunderbolt and just keep on working.

I think if an item to replace them with electronic touch screen machines came up at Town Meeting, it would be soundly defeated.

[Buckeye McFrog]

The big old 1000lb mechanical voting machines from Automatic Voting Machines in Jamestown, NY. Came out in the 50’s and would still be chugging along today if the company had not gone bankrupt and the supply of spare parts dried-up.

[Doug Loss]

Without some sort of printed acknowledgement of each vote, recounts aren't actual recounts but mere validations of the initial count (unless you allow leftists to throw "newly-discovered" ballots into the mix, in which case how is it a "recount?"). There has been an organization working on the issue of voting system integrity for some years, the Open Voting Consortium. They seem to be non-partisan; at least the problems they identify and the solutions they propose seem rational and acceptable.

[TexasRepublic]

All votes should be recorded on paper ballots that are retained until the tallies scanned from them are accepted. Nothing else leaves physical evidence as proof. Electronic systems were meant to be cheated. Stalin was right - whoever counts the votes controls the outcome.

[ronnie raygun]

Al franken got an empty trunk if anyone is interested in storage.

[aimhigh]

Open Voting Consortium. They seem to be non-partisan;

Non-partisan? Seriously?
When I look at their supporter page, I see a bunch of Democrats. Maxine Waters, Dennis Kucinich, Medea Benjamin (Code Pink), David Cobb (Green Party)

[Doug Loss]

Their supporters are one thing; their positions on the problems they found and their proposed solutions are another. Try actually looking at what they’re doing rather than trying to find some litmus test they fail. That’s PC-style thinking.