Yep, we sure needed those electronic voting machines.

Diebold, FTW!

I wonder how many ATMs are affected by moisture. Oh wait, there are receipts for ATMs. Nevermind.

Live Strong! Die Bold!

JimmyTheHutt: Yep, we sure needed those electronic voting machines.

absoluteparanoia: I wonder how many ATMs are affected by moisture. Oh wait, there are receipts for ATMs.

at the main supervisor of elections office in jacksonville (where i voted yesterday), there were paper ballots (fill in the bubble type) that were fed into a scanner. i'd imagine all the polling stations in town are using the same system.

so there are still paper ballots to audit if need be.

burndtdan: at the main supervisor of elections office in jacksonville (where i voted yesterday), there were paper ballots (fill in the bubble type) that were fed into a scanner. i'd imagine all the polling stations in town are using the same system.

so there are still paper ballots to audit if need be.

Most Diebold systems do not have a paper trail to back up their Republican bias.

I don't get it. For years we didn't need these machines, now they're farking up all the time. Tell me again why exactly we've relegated something as important as the presidential election down to being lazy and letting easily-tampered-with electronics do it for us?

I_C_Weener: No matter how badly this fails, it cannot equal the stupidity of 2000.

We're talking about Florida here. Let's not tempt fate.

Freakpower: I don't get it. For years we didn't need these machines, now they're farking up all the time. Tell me again why exactly we've relegated something as important as the presidential election down to being lazy and letting easily-tampered-with electronics do it for us?

Because the idiots in my state couldn't utilize a "punch this hole for candidate X" paper ballots??? Am I right ?

/facepalm

Impose UN oversight. Bring video cameras to the polls. Prosecute any election rigging from any party.

I bet everyone mentioned in the article that was "worried about their vote getting scanned" is a democrat.

Interesting how all these supposed machine failures all skew votes to the Republicans, violating all known laws of probability.

Are the Republicans supporting "Intelligent Design" in their voting machines?

Resolute: It works for us, it can work for you too.

/Vote Laura Secord
//Mmmmm, chocolate

Be careful. Lt Cheese Weasel (aka Belette de lieutenant Fromage) will be on your case for being Canadian and commenting on his election.

Look at all those ATM machines that can't collect simple data and stop working the minute it gets humid.

Where I live in Missouri we vote with a paper ballot. You bubble in the little circles. When you leave you place your ballot in the counting machine and it tells you what number voter you were. What could be simpler? If something screws up there's always a paper trail.

I don't know if Florida is doing "black box" voting, but I consider BB voting the biggest threat to democracy since George Bush.

florida anyway it swings there will be biatching

Phil Moskowitz: Look at all those ATM machines that can't collect simple data and stop working the minute it gets humid.



GIS for "ATM machine"

i'll be bringing my passport, utility bill, state ID and camera (just in case) to the polls. and i'm not even in a swing state!

I usually hold my sides and howl with laughter at the tinfoil hat crowd, but something about this is starting to make me a little queasy.

On the other hand, my milk tasted 'off' this morning.

I'm enjoying the allegations flying at the Democrats for the mostly-overblown ACORN stupidity while in the mean time Republicans are getting arrested for real voter fraud and magically have the voting machine errors in their favor.

I just got back from early voting, and while we had Diebold machines, they did have a paper trail. As the voter confirmed each section of the ballot, it printed out part of a paper receipt, listing all the choices made. Everything checked out for me.

I live in Utah, so maybe we just got the good machines because we're as far as possible from a swing state. But I just wanted to pop in and say that there are some electronic voting machines with a paper trail.

I blame JEB Bush!

I_C_Weener: Freakpower: I don't get it. For years we didn't need these machines, now they're farking up all the time. Tell me again why exactly we've relegated something as important as the presidential election down to being lazy and letting easily-tampered-with electronics do it for us?

Remember the previous paper system in Florida? Hanging chads and butterfly ballots.

No matter how badly this fails, it cannot equal the stupidity of 2000.

So instead of just not using butterfly ballots, we ought to subject our democracy to mechanical failure instead? Democracy is about leaders being held accountable by the people. Simple as that. It's not about leaders being accountable by machines, which are then not accountable by the people. Take the machines out of the farking equation.

That is why I am filling out a paper absentee ballot.

/Vote early
//Vote often

absoluteparanoia: I wonder how many ATMs are affected by moisture. Oh wait, there are receipts for ATMs. Nevermind.

I'd imagine most ATMs have to deal with some kind of moisture, but usually the girls don't mind if you've gotten that far with them.

......ohhh sorry you meant.. yeah I'll move along

The only thing i can see humidity affecting would be the paper, and even that's a stretch. Aren't most places in the US air conditioned?

I've never been in any building in the south that didn't have central air, so humidity shouldn't be a factor

that being said, I had a chance to test the ones in Sacramento county, not sure if we're actually going to use them though, you feed in your ballot, you do the whole touch screen thing, it darkens the bubbles, shoots out the ballot, saves the info on a card, and you turn in the ballot, so there is a paper trail for audit.

burndtdan: JimmyTheHutt: Yep, we sure needed those electronic voting machines.

absoluteparanoia: I wonder how many ATMs are affected by moisture. Oh wait, there are receipts for ATMs.

at the main supervisor of elections office in jacksonville (where i voted yesterday), there were paper ballots (fill in the bubble type) that were fed into a scanner. i'd imagine all the polling stations in town are using the same system.

so there are still paper ballots to audit if need be.

Except there will never be an audit. If there's a recount, they'll simply read off the totals from the machines again, and the election officials will most likely fight tooth and nail to prevent anything else from happening. And I'm sure the Republican elected officials of all three branches of government will assist vigorously in the effort.

I watched "Hacking Democracy" last week. Ugh. Definately a must-view movie.

Paper ballots, marked with ink, hand counted ONLY in front of the press and party representatives. Some things just can't be improved on.

It's once every 730 days. Just do it by hand! We can wait an extra day for the results!


Go to YouTube and look at the Spoonamore interviews.

Link (new window)

Gadren: I just got back from early voting, and while we had Diebold machines, they did have a paper trail. As the voter confirmed each section of the ballot, it printed out part of a paper receipt, listing all the choices made. Everything checked out for me.

I live in Utah, so maybe we just got the good machines because we're as far as possible from a swing state. But I just wanted to pop in and say that there are some electronic voting machines with a paper trail.

I had the same experience here in Nevada, but here's the thing: How would anyone ever know it was time to go back and check the paper? What if the system just send a false result to the registrar while showing you your actual choices? You'd never even know anything was wrong.

And if we're gonna have a paper record you can't take with you, why not just count the printout as the official ballot? Why even use the suspect computers to send the info? Answer: Because more steps in the process means more chances for "humidity" to kick in.

Resolute: It works for us, it can work for you too.

/Vote Laura Secord
//Mmmmm, chocolate

THIS!

Cripes.

Seriously, paper trail or NOT, if you can't see the code, if you can't trust the machine (and you CAN'T) and there's no one to verify it properly (there ISN'T) your vote is open to fraud.

It's that simple.

Not all problems require a technical solution. Some problems shouldn't BE solved by a technical solution.

Hmmm... I wonder what the political, religious, ethnic, racial and financial makeups are where the "failures" are occuring. Would make an interesting project for somebody with the time.

Cuz I just can't imagine anybody ever putting the older, more hackable, more troublesome machines in Democratic precincts. Naw...

Rug Doctor: Phil Moskowitz: Look at all those ATM machines that can't collect simple data and stop working the minute it gets humid.



GIS for "ATM machine"

I wonder to which "ATM" they're referring...

/got nothin

whereisian: Impose UN oversight. Bring video cameras to the polls. Prosecute any election rigging from any party.

OECD overlooked the 2004 elections. Atleast the Danish monitor, who is a member of the Danish parliament, reported that she was unable to monitor the process as she was not allowed to enter the building.

She did report bullying on likely democrat voters outside though.

antidisestablishmentarianism: Butterflew: The only thing i can see humidity affecting would be the paper, and even that's a stretch. Aren't most places in the US air conditioned?

No, Humidity will effect microchips and other electronic components.

/EET

Well yeah but you generally don't keep important machinery of that nature in a humid area. Wouldn't that be outlined in the proper care/storage/usage of the thing? but wait, i guess we are talking about florida.

Can someone tell me what is wrong with CHECKING A FARKING BOX WITH AN INK PEN? ANYONE?

WHAT'S WRONG? NOT COMPLICATED ENOUGH?

serial_crusher: Everybody's got a camera on their phones.

Great thinking Einstein. How long do you think my phone cord is?

/silly libs

serial_crusher: The "paper trail" is such a false sense of security. Just opens the system to more attack vectors (i.e. stuff the paper box with votes for you, claim your opponent hacked them and took them out of the electronic count)

Don't they keep a record of who/how many voted? That will tell you which has been stuffed. That's how it works here in Canada - ballots say who was voted for, records keep who voted. Combined, you can check the totals to make sure the tallies match.