Bipartisan Request Seeks Halt to Internet Voting

Washington Post ^ | January 30, 2004 | Dan Keating

[neverdem]

Groups Fear Citizens Abroad Will Be Compromised

In a highly unusual pairing, the Republican and Democratic party organizations for citizens living abroad have banded together against the Pentagon's Internet voting program for the presidential election.

Concerns about the security of the online ballots could cast the entire election under a cloud of suspicion, they said in a joint letter urging a halt in the program. The letter released yesterday is being sent to several congressional committees.

"We do not want to undermine confidence in our system of voting by discovering some real or imagined fraud in the November balloting," wrote the leaders of Republicans Abroad and Democrats Abroad.

The partisan groups called their cooperation historic. They are joined in their opposition by the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, American Citizens Abroad and the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas, which are sending a separate appeal to Congress and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

[neverdem]

This internet voting sounds flaky.

[supercat]

This internet voting sounds flaky.

Actually, a properly-designed electronic vote-communication system for the military might be a good thing. There the number of votes is small enough that paper-copy backups would be both feasible and useful, and there would be people monitoring the elections who could verify the identity of voters (unlike in most "Internet voting" proposals).

[Paleo Conservative]

This internet voting sounds flaky.

It's interesting how both Republican and DemocRAT parties are in agreement about worrying about the security of internet voting. I recall that in the 2000 primaries in a few states, the DemocRATS were very enthusiastic about using online internet voting.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Dang! There goes my plan to cast six million votes in the next Oregon presidential election. :)

Now if we could just check the IDs of people who vote the old fashioned way...

[neverdem]

Now if we could just check the IDs of people who vote the old fashioned way...

I wish there were neighbors who were poll watchers who could trusted.

[neverdem]

To me, it sounds like you might have a valid proposition, but I trust neither gov't or unions

[neverdem]

could trusted = could be trusted, pardon me