(no subject)

[ximinez]

This is why I will never cast a vote on a machine that does not generate some form of hardcopy.

http://www.local6.com/news/3879408/detail.html

What would they have done if this had happened on a paperless voting machine?

How likely do you think it is that it's going to happen tomorrow? How likely do you think it is that it's already happened?

And will we ever know?

Comments

[loucheroo.livejournal.com]

and see, i won't vote paper beacuse it's too easy to "lose" that.... how do we know there won't be bags of absentee ballots lost in this election that we'll never know about? how do we know there weren't huge issues with those ballots last election? Oh wait... we do :P

it's a lose-lose situation *shrug*

[ximinez]

To me, the fundamental difference is that a paper ballot can, eventually, be "found". It may be too late for a particular election, but at least we can know with certainty that there was a problem and take steps to fix it next time. If an electronic ballot is lost, it is, for all intents and purposes, gone. (Especially because the voting machine manufacturers won't let independent third parties examine their machines.)

As for deliberately "losing" ballots, to have any significant effect, that would take a conspiracy, and conspiracies usually have a way of eventually coming to light.

My point is not that paper ballots are not a problem - in many ways, they are. My point is that electronic-only voting machines, especially as currently implemented are not the solution...

[cadrys.livejournal.com]

Report from PHilly that the machines were pre-rigged with a few thousand Kerry votes each before the polls opened...

I agree with ya; too easy for local machines (either party) to rig them, and we all know how reliable electronic media can be.

[ximinez]

Scary. As you say, either party.

[segnbora.livejournal.com]

Yeah, here in Hillsborough County Rob MacKenna, the guy running against the incumbent Supervisor of Elections, is running with "Get A Paper Trail!" on his signs and pledging to "equip every voting machine in Hillsborough County with a paper record to ensure the accurate counting of every vote." Buddy Johnson, the incumbent (appointed when the previous Supervisor of Elections resigned to run for Mayor) is fine with electronic-only, it seems. (Not surprising that MacKenna has a lot more job experience working with computers than Johnson and knows about their possible failures.)

[ximinez]

He'd have my vote...