There was a lot of stuff over the long weekend, so I wasn’t sure what to blog about today. I started one on the sad state that emergency medical care is coming to, but then I saw this one. This is a subject that’s had us worried in varying degrees since Nov. 2000.
Voting machine controversy, 08/28/03
The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is “committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.”
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t any company that handles voting machines be committed to providing fair and truthful returns? To delivering said electoral votes to, say, the candidate that the majority of the voters of that state voted for?
We’re not the only ones worried about fraud, either by voters or by those who count the votes.
- Hack the Vote
How to stop someone from stealing the 2004 election
Updated Thursday, July 31, 2003, at 3:31 PM PT - Voting machine companies: Ownership disclosure, “private” vote-counting codes, potential for manipulation (was http://www.talion.com/election-machines.html)
- VOTING AND DEMOCRACY: THE CHALLENGES AHEAD
MoveOn Bulletin
Tuesday, July 29th, 2003 - Will Your Vote Count in the Next Election?
I’ve been voting on punch-card ballots since I was old enough to vote, and I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. Frankly I’ll trust the cards over a computer system as open to manipulation as what it looks like we may be stuck with next year. At least the cards give a paper trail (whether the trail is followed, as we’ve seen, in a whole ‘nother story).
Note: The title of this piece comes from “Concerning Stories Never Written: Postscript” in Revolt in 2100 by Robert A. Heinlein, 1952.
“I imagined Nehemiah Scudder as a backwoods evangelist… Shortly thereafter [after a wealthy widow left him enough money to start a TV station] he teamed up with an ex-Senator from his home state; they placed their affairs in the hands of a major advertising agency and were on their way to fame and fortune. Presently they needed stormtroopers; they revived the Ku Klux Klan in everything but the name — sheets, passwords, grips and all. It was a ‘good gimmick’ once and it still served. Blood at the polls and blood in the streets, but Scudder won the election. The next election was never held.”
IMNSHO, Revolt in 2100 should be required reading in high school lit/civics classes. If you haven’t read it, find a copy. You might want to make sure your local library or book store doesn’t report back to the DoJ, though — I have to imagine this is on Ashcroft’s list of subversive works.
(by Morgan, 3 Sep 2003 1:35 PM)
The_Blogmother
Morgan (aka Lorena), site designer for Silver Gateways, is happily married to Roland/Rowan/Robin. While she was a frequent blogger in the 00's, nowadays she mostly leaves that to her other half and concentrates on managing their web presence. She was also the "web goddess" for the EVDC.