Florida will not be required to create a paper record from touch-screen voting machines.

FindLaw ^ | 10-26-04 | Find law

[OXENinFLA]

WEXLER, ET AL. v. LEPORE, ET AL. (October 26, 2004) The state of Florida will not be required to create a paper record from touch-screen voting machines. U.S. Representative Robert Wexler had argued that the touch-screen voting machines used in some Florida counties lacked a manual recount procedure.

Memorandum Opinion [PDF] http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/voting/wexlervlepore20041025opn.pdf

Final Judgment [PDF] http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/voting/wexlervlepore20041025fj.pdf

Related Materials:

FindLaw Legal News Special Coverage: Election 2004 http://news.lp.findlaw.com/legalnews/lit/election2004/index.html

[OXENinFLA]

Well ,now they won't have to send out new machines.

BTW, I think there should be a paper record. And I don't like touch screen voting, I'm one of those old fashion fans of pen to paper voting

[OXENinFLA]

PING...

[OXENinFLA]

Judge Dismisses Touch-Screen Voting Suit

Here's the story.

[william clark]

I was surprised to see Wexler pushing for the paper trail. I remember the screaming fits he used to throw during the Monicagate business, reminding me of an irate junior high gym teacher.

[mysterio]

If those in charge of elections are smart, computerized voting will only ruin one or two elections before we go back to paper ballots. Voter fraud now requires a ton of paper and a few graveyards. Computer voter fraud, however, requires one hacker kid in Germany who just wants to have a little fun. Or one hacker kid in Germany who just got a fat payoff from an interested organization. Computerized voting is probably one of the biggest mistakes ever to be made when it comes to our voting process.

[mlocher]

a paper trail would have been stupid and created more cries of voter fraud

[FreedomCalls]

There were never paper records with the old flip-lever voting machines. Did you not trust them?

[grobdriver]

And I don't like touch screen voting, I'm one of those old fashion fans of pen to paper voting

Roger that.
I wonder if the RNC knows who programmed these machines, and what their political bent is?
I can see it now:

Touch Kerry yields vote for Kerry.
Touch Nader yields vote for Kerry.
Touch Bush yields vote for Kerry.
Well golly gee! Kerry wins!

[w1andsodidwe]

BTW, I think there should be a paper record. And I don't like touch screen voting, I'm one of those old fashion fans of pen to paper voting

The thing about computer voting is that you will get the same number every single time you count, because there is only one correct set of numbers. RATS don't like it because they can't cheat.

Printing the ballots and trying to count them would only open up to RAT fraud.

[OXENinFLA]

I'm not that familiar with how that type works, I know you pull/push the knobs for who you're voting for then pull the leaver, but how are the votes tallied in the end?

I trust a mechanical device (gears, leavers, things you can touch) more than a bunch of electrons on a screen.

[maryz]

I'm one of those old fashion fans of pen to paper voting

I believe Tip O'Neil won his first election with old-fashioned pencil-and-paper voting! The counters were for him and kept bits of pencil lead under their fingernails while they counted, "adjusting" as they went!

[xzins]

Without a paper trail, we have no idea what the truth is.

Touch screen is a prescription for election disaster.

[Redbob]

"Computer voter fraud, however, requires one hacker kid in Germany who just wants to have a little fun."

It's actually just a bit more complicated than that: for a hacker to have access, the voting machines would have to have an actual physical connection to the internet.
In short, vote fraud with touch screen machines requires physical access to the machines as well as the know-how to hack them.

This can be prevented by having an audit performed before the machine is put into use.
Vote 1,000 times for Bush and see the machine counts them correctly.
Then vote 1,000 times for Kerry and see that it gets those votes counted right.

Maintain physical control of the machines until the votes are counted. And never never never connect them to the internet!

[b4its2late]

For the record.....Wexler is a certifiable clymer.

[FreedomCalls]

I'm not that familiar with how that type works, I know you pull/push the knobs for who you're voting for then pull the leaver, but how are the votes tallied in the end?

An election official and a witness opens up the machine at the end of the day and looks at a little odometer-type counter beside each name and records it in the official ledger book.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I think Wexler is just a mouthpiece. He wants to appear to be fighting fraud while all the time promoting it behind the scenes.

[SaintDismas]

Are all the voting booths at early voting sites guarded by the police 24/7?

[vrwc1]

Computer voter fraud, however, requires one hacker kid in Germany who just wants to have a little fun.

Totally false. It's impossible for "one hacker kid in Germany" to connect to computerized voting machines that are not in any way attached to the Internet.

Please stop trying to scare people with such nonsensical arguments.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

WEXLER, ET AL. v. LEPORE, ET AL

I don't have the faintest idea who to root for in that battle.

[weegee]

The ward bosses aren't going to be happy. You knock and drag voters to the polls, pay them cigarettes and walking around money, and you STILL can't check if they voted "correctly".