High-Tech Voting System Is Banned in California

NY Times ^ | May 1, 2004 | JOHN SCHWARTZ

[neverdem]

"We're not idiots, though we may act from time to time as not the smartest."

DUH!

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Good. Voting should be done with good-old fashioned black marker and paper, overseen by sweet old ladies.

[samtheman]

Doesn't seem to be any point in doing away with the paper trail. I like all things high-tech, but in this case, I want a paper trail.

[John123]

Good. Voting should be done with good-old fashioned black marker and paper, overseen by sweet old ladies.

And don't forget those hanging chads...

[neverdem]

This technology is ripe for fraud IMHO.

[supercat]

Doesn't seem to be any point in doing away with the paper trail. I like all things high-tech, but in this case, I want a paper trail.

IMHO, one requirement for a really good voting system (not quite met by any system today) is that the act of casting a ballot should indelibly mark some substitution-resistant medium such that (1) any further marking will render it void, and (2) there can be no plausible explanation for voided ballots appearing in the ballot stream, other than either fraud or gross incompetance by those running the elections.

Optical scanning is probably the technology that comes closest to meeting those requirements, though it would allow a voter's "no candidate selected" choice for a race to be altered into something else. But the electronic proposals I've seen have been absolutely horrible in this regard since they use flash memory which is, by design, anything but indelible.

[upchuck]

Some links to other stories about this:

Calif. Official Bans Some Voting Machines [Calls for Criminal Investigation of Diebold] ^

Calif. secretary of state pulls plug on some electronic voting ^

The Vexations Of Voting Machines ^

[neverdem]

IIRC, they submit paper ballots in Canada.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the links.

[Travis McGee]

Totally ripe. There isn't the compute program yet that can't be hacked.

[supercat]

There isn't the compute program yet that can't be hacked.

There used to be. Back when computers were programmed using configuratiosn of wires and such, programs could be inspected to ensure that they were being run properly.

[Sacajaweau]

You're absolutely right. Some of these kids are amazing. I always say "hire them" so we know where they are. With a little incentive, they'll blow in their best friend. It's just a game to them.

[Sacajaweau]

Go back to "fill in the dot" with a number 2 pencil. Simple but effective.

And if schoolkids can handle that, maybe some of these folks who refuse to meld (learn English and work) might be able to handle it.

[samtheman]

I agree.

[sd-joe]

>> "though it would allow a voter's "no candidate selected" choice for a race to be altered into something else." <<

The solution to that is so simple that no politician would ever think of it. Simply put a "no candidate selected" option on each vote. Allowing a voter to select this as their choice.

[GladesGuru]

"I came real close — real close — to decertifying the machines outright in those 10 counties," Mr. Shelley said. But he explained that he made the decertification conditional because the machines had strong support from advocates for the disabled."


Just how can the machine's possibly help the disabled to a suifficient extent that possibly could justify any risk of election fraud?

It seems to me that the only "disabled" in this article may be Mr. Shelley because he is allowing known vulnerable machines to be used. Clearly he is mentally disabled, say in possession of a room temperature IQ.

Or he could be a vote stealer.

[TheLion]

"Federal lawmakers, including Representative Rush D. Holt, Democrat of New Jersey, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, have called for voter-verified paper trails as well."


Don't rush to judgement here....the Democrats love the paper trail....they are expert at vote fraud. A proper electronic vote would screw them from cancelling out Republican votes!

How we could get a proper electronic vote, is a very good question, however.

[not2worry]

I agree! Let's go back to the paper ballot. One ballot, one vote, one signature. The only other techno thing they could add is having your picture taken when you put your ballot into the box. The Cruise Ships do this type of ID, shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

We are all being set up for another divisive fight come November. They talk about putting together the "dots" on 9/11. Yet, we see this coming and all the politicians do nothing!

Are we going to have a 11/4/04 Commission? I'd prefer to spend my tax dollars now instead of later.

[samadams2000]

There goes our one button advantage- Democrat

[Kuksool]

Why is there no call for requiring Voter Id at the polls?