[Cinnamon Girl]

Eric Leonard was reporting that the state is considering outlawing the Diebold touch screen system because it can be easily hacked. That's millions of dollars down the drain for San Diego county.

[Centurion2000]

paper ballots ... anything less will lead to false elections.

[js1138]

I'm thinking he machines are difficult to hack; that's why they quit working when you try

The paper ballots that you mark are the only way o go. They have everything: security recountability. All they need to be perfect is a "none of the above" slot to prevent null votes from being filled in by election workers.

[kevkrom]

I went to the polls in Maryland today and was offended three times in five minutes:

1. The voting machines were electronic-only touch-screen devices. No hinto of any type of paper trail or accountability. I am left to hope that my vote was correctly recorded and that it will be tabulated, because I don't see a person (or persons) responsible for chain of custody.

2. The "I Voted" sticker they slapped on me as I left was bi-lingual -- English and Spanish. Isn't the ability to speak English a requirement for the citizenship exam? If so, then why do election materials have to be bi-lingual?

3. I caught a glance at the Democrat primary sample ballot while I was waiting for Mrs. kevkrom to finish voting -- there are actually separate sections for delegates to the convention for male and female delegates! So much for affirmative action not meaning quotas...

[GregD]

Was this a radio guy? Did he refer to anything on which he bases this statement? That is the first I have heard of such a discussion, and I run www.verifiedvoting.org so I am surprised to hear this. Not unpleasantly surprised, just uhhh, shocked.

As far as I am concerned, Diebold is evil and should have nothing to do with our elections. And that is NOT intended to be a partisan comment, their e-mails and their overall behaviour reveal that they simply appear to be completely and thoroughly corrupt.

We have been screaming for months that these paperless machines should not be used. Again, it's not a partisan arguement - it's just a reality that these machines are not worthy of ANYONE's trust.

To resolve this, other than throwing the silly things away, we need to pass HR2239 and S1980. Those bills require a voter-verified paper ballot for these touchscreen systems, and a paper-based backup for November (if the VVPB cannot be installed by that time.) If you will help us do that, all of us: "left, center and right" will win. Democracy will win.

Please visit www.verifiedvoting.org and become involved. You are more than welcome, we need you badly. We are a non-partisan effort. Hope to see ya there.

[Hildy]

What happened to me was weird...I have always been a registered Independent, and there fore been able to vote whichever primary I wanted. When I got my electronic card and inserted it, the candidates for the AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY came up. By that time it was too late to take the cards out. The poll workers had no idea what to do. Once the card is in it won't come out until you cast your ballot. Once I casted my ballot, I couldn't do another one. Sensing the poll workers were getting a little nervous, I just said it was ok, but if my candidate lost by 1, I'd be really mad! I was still able to vote for the judges and propositions. It was weird. But the machine itself was very easy to use. If they can figure out a way to make all of this work, I do think it would be good.

[Publius6961]

Eric Leonard was reporting that the state is considering outlawing the Diebold touch screen system because it can be easily hacked.

Psychologically the new voting system here in Stockton, California, is scary, unsatisfying and troublesome: we get a card sized similar to some old style phone cards. The touch screen system is simple but unsettling since it provides no feedback, and when one hits the "cast ballot" touch button there is dead silence and again, no feedback. Then the card is "erased" and reused. Dozens of people can visit that place in a day, nothing whatsoever could be happening in the way of votes, and no one would know or even have a way to make a rudimentary check.

At the very minimum, there should be a clearly visible display somewhere displaying a running total of the voters who have visited. The presnt system does not even have a way of knowing if the voters exceeded the total legal number, be three times too many, nothing. And I can't even prove I voted to get a free cup of coffee!

[novacation]

I voted with a pencil filling in a circle. Seemed to work pretty well and you can buy a lot of pencils for $100

[muleskinner]

I just used a touch-screen system in Santa Clara county. Worked fine. I am wary of ballot by electrons, though.

[socal_parrot]

I voted in Orange County and was expecting touch screens. What I got was a dial to turn to select my candidate and a couple buttons. Took minutes to vote. I did notice some were having trouble and taking awhile.

[FreedomPoster]

>>Eric Leonard was reporting that the state is considering outlawing the Diebold touch screen system because it can be easily hacked.

I wish my state would do that. I'd rather have a few $millions down the drain than a hacked, crooked voting system.

[Political Junkie Too]

New Voting Systems in CA a Total Shambles

It must be all the minority voters who don't understand how to use the technology, unlike all the punchcard ballots.

It's too bad we didn't have them for the recall vote the way the ACLU and the NAACP demanded! < /sarcasm>

-PJ

[ladyinred]

Oh no!!!!! How many democrats were disenfranchised?????? /sarcasm, of course.

[Pylon]

I voted touchscreen in San Diego tonight. Took less than 1 min, and I have a nifty "I voted touch screen" sticker to show off.

[Penner]

Electronic voting is evil. Make it go away.

[TERMINATTOR]

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