Pat Buchanan?

Step 1: Open source software required on all voting machines.
Step 2: Paper trail required.
Step 3: Any evidence of voter fraud and rigging treated as treason no matter how small. When the direction of this nation is decided by the people, anyone subjugating that process should be tried as a traitor against the US.

Afternoon_Delight: I don't understand what the hell they're whining about this time.

Historically, democrats are THE champions of voter fraud...

Regardless of who benefits, election integrity should be a non-partisan principle. We have the technology and the means to ensure nearly 100% accurate elections but we fail to implement it.

Um, really dumb people voting on them?

Afternoon_Delight: I don't understand what the hell they're whining about this time.

Historically, democrats are THE champions of voter fraud...


/diebold didn't 'help out' in '06 either, crybabies

If you're saying that the integrity of our elections isn't important to you, then you should choke on a bagful of dicks.

Good call by Brunner.

Florida: farked the country by being too dumb to even properly poke holes in god damned piece of paper.

Woah woah woah, you're supposed to whine about the voting machines after you lose the election, not before.

Postal Penguin:

"Step 1: Open source software required on all voting machines.
Step 2: Paper trail required.
Step 3: Any evidence of voter fraud and rigging treated as treason no matter how small. When the direction of this nation is decided by the people, anyone subjugating that process should be tried as a traitor against the US."

---------------

I'll add to that:

Step 0: Validation of voter ID at the polling place

Postal Penguin: Step 1: Open source software required on all voting machines.
Step 2: Paper trail required.
Step 3: Any evidence of voter fraud and rigging treated as treason no matter how small. When the direction of this nation is decided by the people, anyone subjugating that process should be tried as a traitor against the US.

This.

I would also argue that using PC technology for a voting machine is a poor choice. PCs are very easy to reprogram (that's why they exist!) A custom-built machine that only counts votes would be far more difficult to tamper with.

Until we get it figured out in this country I don't think we have the right to "export" democracy anywhere else.

Postal Penguin for President in 2008

UN oversight of US elections. K?

Chad?

Suggestion from Shaggy_C:

UN oversight of US elections. K?

Even if it means attracting paranoia from the tinfoil-hat crowd fearing a United Nations-directed "takeover" of the United States and its "antient and pecuilar soverignty and soverign identity" (whatever THAT is)....

How can we say we have a democracy (which we don't) when not everyone who has the right to vote actually goes out to vote? Why isn't our main election day a national holiday, allowing everyone the day off to go vote? (Not everyone can get to a polling station on a work day, and those absentee votes don't really count anyway).

And why, oh why, are news stations allowed to air election results before all the polling stations are closed? It's like a freaking horse race. If it's an anonymous system, and as such, you shouldn't know how any state fared until everything has been said and done.

As for "confusing ballots," if you can't figure out how to vote, maybe you shouldn't be voting. (It's not that hard).

And I do disagree with voting machines. Paper trails are a good thing. Yes, they can get burned, or lost, or whatever, but they're more honest than any machine voting system (and besides, it's a bit traditional, no?) I worked in a polling station that had the touch-screen voting machines, and they malfunctioned for the first seven hours of the election. Of course it was in a poor, predominantly working-class neighborhood, but I'm sure that had nothing to do with why our machines wouldn't work, or why people were encouraged to fill out the paper ballots which, let's be honest, might as well be thrown away, for all the effect they have on the results (same for military votes too, you may as well not bother. You can fight for the country you love, but don't expect anyone to tally your vote).

We decry the abuses of the democratic process in other countries, but we don't seem to care much for it in ours (and I'm for ditching the electoral college too. A democracy is ruled by the majority. If the majority lives on the coasts, they're still the majority).

Then again, I'm all for Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii, breaking off into West America, but eh. That'll never happen. (Nevada might be allowed to come too).

Viva West America. :D

I am still waiting for there to be a big Access virus that messes with databases, which appears on election day to mess with any of the tally machines that are connected to the internet. It could do things like altering vote counts, or just deleting data.

Or maybe I am just hoping that this happens so that people see how bad these voting machines are.

Craptastic: Afternoon_Delight: I don't understand what the hell they're whining about this time.

Historically, democrats are THE champions of voter fraud...


/diebold didn't 'help out' in '06 either, crybabies

If you're saying that the integrity of our elections isn't important to you, then you should choke on a bagful of dicks.


We should patent that and call it "dickboarding". But probably Afternoon_Delusion will love it...

thedailyphosdex: Even if it means attracting paranoia from the tinfoil-hat crowd fearing a United Nations-directed "takeover" of the United States and its "antient and pecuilar soverignty and soverign identity" (whatever THAT is)....

Just saying we can't very well chastise other nations for their voting methodologies if we ourselves refuse to uphold the same level of accountability.

They hate black people?

Perhaps we'll be invaded by a nation hoping to institute democracy.


/just sayin'

Slugs_of_a_banana_nature: How can we say we have a democracy (which we don't)

The United States isn't a democracy.

It is a 'democratically' elected republic.

Enjoy your 2 party system, suckers!

/ my first ever troll.
// can't wait to see how it goes.

Fair and honest elections ARE a partisan issue - because only Democrats WANT them.

I know what they have in common...people who have no business voting...cause they are too stupid..illiterate...mentally handicapped and probably Democrats.

VTSquire: Florida: farked the country by being too dumb to even properly poke holes in god damned piece of paper.

Don't blame Floridians, blame the limp-wristed Yankee retirees in Palm Beach County that couldn't figure out which hole to put their stick in. Don't forget to also blame the Networks for calling the race an hour before all the polls had closed, too

If you want a verifiable paper trail, I don't see what the problem with going back to the punch cards is except that money doesn't have to be spent.

My county went touch screen then had to junk those four years later and go to optical scan at a cost of almost $5 million. The retirees have figured out ways to screw these up, too.

grxymkjbn: Fair and honest elections ARE a partisan issue - because only Democrats WANT them.

The Daleys in Chicago would like to have a word with you.

Hum_35711: Slugs_of_a_banana_nature: How can we say we have a democracy (which we don't)

The United States isn't a democracy.

It is a 'democratically' elected republic.

Enjoy your 2 party system, suckers!

/ my first ever troll.
// can't wait to see how it goes.

Everything there is actually true.

The hanging chads were from bad card stock sent to a few counties, Broward FL being one. All the counties that recieved the bad stock had problems.

Afternoon_Delight:
Historically, democrats are THE champions of voter fraud...


As notorious as the Democrat political machines are, the origins of vote fraud in America lie in the Party of Lincoln. The massive vote fraud that took place during the War between the States and for the ensuing twelve years of "Reconstruction" provides an abject lesson in tyranny that has ominous implications for American taxpayers.

There are news reports that during the 2000 presidential election cycle many absentee ballots never made it to military personnel overseas, while 40 percent of those that were returned to the state of Florida were thrown out because of minor technicalities (like absence of a postage stamp). During the War between the States Lincoln was known to instruct his military commanders to furlough registered Republicans while keeping Democrats (and any others) in the field, where they could not vote. In border states like Maryland, where there was powerful opposition to the war, federal soldiers flooded the cities on election days and were instructed to vote, even though they were not residents of those states.

(new window) The articles go on but as usual conservatives are blind to their own peccadilloes.

Postal Penguin: Step 1: Open source software required on all voting machines.
Step 2: Paper trail required.
Step 3: Any evidence of voter fraud and rigging treated as treason no matter how small. When the direction of this nation is decided by the people, anyone subjugating that process should be tried as a traitor against the US.

Afternoon_Delight: I don't understand what the hell they're whining about this time.

Historically, democrats are THE champions of voter fraud...

Regardless of who benefits, election integrity should be a non-partisan principle. We have the technology and the means to ensure nearly 100% accurate elections but we fail to implement it.

1)Open Source software? Are you insane? People could write all kinds of crap to hack the computers if you use open source. IMHO, they should have a single company write the software, and then have it reviewed by a panel of, say, 50 experts for security flaws. Pay them each $20,000 for their efforts, sequester them until after the election, and show them the software two months before the election. Tell them to identify any security flaws, and fix them. Of course, the experts would be drawn from companies not involved in the development of the software, for the sake of impartiality, and would choose to undertake the project of their own free will.

2)Absolutely. IMHO, there should be two receipts printed for each voter. When a voter votes, a number is randomly generated from a list of numbers not yet used, and printed on each receipt. One receipt says simply "You have voted for [candidate's name here]. Receipt # [big number here].", and is given to the voter. The other receipt says "One vote for [candidate]." "Receipt # [same big number here]." This way, every voter can confirm that their vote has been counted, and they can destroy their receipt if they wish, to maintain confidentiality. If a voter says "Oh noes, I meant to vote to the other guy!!1!" then they can have a poll worker negate their receipt number and try again.

3)Treason may only be brought against someone during a time of war. I say they should forfeit 4 years of their salary and spend 4 years in jail. This levels the playing field (A specific fine may destroy one person, but hardly effect another).

Go back to the old fashion paper and pen.

In RI, we have paper ballots that we fill in and are then electronically scanned. If something goes wrong with the machines, you have a paper trail as back up. Yeah, it'll take longer, but you have physical proof!