Why Is The Government Afraid To Let Election Officials Test Voting Machines?
from the seems-like-a-simple-request dept
The situation with voting machines just keeps getting more ridiculous. Back in December, when a Florida county election official found serious vulnerabilities with Diebold vote scanners, the company simply laughed it off. Apparently they did so with good reason. Since the election official was still required by federal voting laws to buy such machines, and other voting machine vendors refused to bid on the contract, Diebold was able to set onerous terms, including banning certain tests on the machine. It seems like they're getting government help as well. Interesting People points us to a story about how that same elections official is now fighting against the state government that is trying to set new rules that would require local election officials to first seek state approval before running any tests on voting machines. As the official says, he has no problem notifying the state to any tests, but can't see why they need to approve the tests first. On top of that, given the way other states, such as Colorado, have reacted when local officials want to test their voting machines, it seems like this ruling would likely put a stop to many tests -- such as the one in Colorado that not only upset state officials so badly, but also turned up a huge security hole in those machines. No matter what your political leanings may be, it's a travesty that so few people seem that concerned about making sure election results are accurate -- and that so many politicians seem to be going out of their way to make it even harder to make sure those votes are accurately counted.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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It's definitely terrible
It's a sad state of affairs when a McDonald's cash register is more secure than a voting machine. Since when is a $1 burger more valuable than a vote?
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Re: It's definitely terrible
The McDonalds cash register makes more money for the US economy than the average voter does.
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Re: Re: It's definitely terrible
Votes = Power
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How to fix an election
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Thank God
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Re: Thank God
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The plot thickens....
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you call that fixing?
Unfortunately that might be true >.>
(If no one buy the 1$ burger or any burger because of say...Iraq war, won't the administration listen if Mc Donald seek the end of the war?
that was a purely stupid analogy brought to you by randomGuy,
now change burger with oil and McDonald with Haliburton....
What? >.>)
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Manipulation
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smoking gun
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Old ways can be the best.
sometimes, the old ways can be the best ways.
(and before anyone comments that someone could steal and replace the ballots, the same can happen with the automated system, this is not a comment on the whole process, simply on the process of voters voting.)
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Re: Old ways can be the best.
US Population = 295,734,134
While I agree that the old way might be better, there's a bit of a population difference between the UK and the US. A difference that would require a multi-million dollar spend.
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Re: Old ways can be the best.
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Re: Old ways can be the best.
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Re: Old ways can be the best.
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Bring back the optical scanning systems
Chicago purchased the bulk of their machines from Sequoia Election Systems, a company purportedly owned in part by the Venezuelan government. They are dickering about the multitudinous problems they had with this year's primary and still have not paid the $9 million plus owed on the system. If I am not mistaken, there are still some results that are still in question.
As Mayor Daley the First said, "Vote early and often!"
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so much for democracy
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Re: so much for democracy
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Re: so much for democracy
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Re: so much for democracy
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Re:
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Re: Re:
How would that work, anyway? I guess the vacancy would be filled by appointment from some other politico? *puking sound*
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Re: Re: Re:
The same as if you vote.
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no more freedom
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Okay, I work for an elections office...
Of course the machines aren't secure if no one checks them and outsiders have unrestricted access. Big surprise.
I'm not raising a flag for Diebold, every company has it's issues and I'm not a fan of any company. I am, however, a fan of the electoral process -- and this kind of press that looks at half-truths and then generates wild assumptions from there -- needs a broader education.
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Re: Okay, I work for an elections office...
If casino machine code is of far greater importance than our elections, which by virtue of the problems we see it is, then we have a serious problem. Force of law requires slot machine manufacturers to comply with code auditing. The same can be done for election machines, we just don't seem to care. Remember, no government has lasted forever, we can't expect America's to either. And I don't mean Bush, I mean American Government as a whole.
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Re: Re: Okay, I work for an elections office...
However, with that being said, I'd love to get my hands on one of these things, I bet I'd be able to screw it up somehow, if not break into the thing. Breaking into stuff if the funnest part of my job (QA dude).
The best voting machine I've seen is one where the user of the machine chooses their candidates, a printout is created, the voter (presumably) reviews the choices on the printout, and puts it into a machine which reads the vote.
That way, idiots who don't know how to figure out how to fill forms in can still vote (shutter) and there is little opportunity for malicious hackers to break stuff.
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how long before we pass a law that says no elections in wartime.. You know somebody somewhere has to be trying.
It's a shame that the good presidents can only run for 2 terms.
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Re:
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Re:
2 terms : one in the White House, one in the 'Big House'.
(I forget who said it... but steal from the best, I say).
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Another way to get there
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use them!
Come, with good use of technology we can get perfect 100% voter turnout!!!! No more news stories about voter apathy
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Democracy-Have the people lost the power to rule?
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Voting numbers have always been fucked up, it just gained attention in Forida. Guess what, the exact same issues happened in 4 other states that year, yet the numbers were not close enough to hold the election results in the balance.
vote counting has always been fucked, use computers, and they will just be fucked faster.
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Diebolt
A suggestion- I am going to email this story to my senators (state and federal) so they are aware of this issue.
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To the lowest bidder...
I don't know which is worse, purchasing because of a mandate or giving the business to the lowest bidder.
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Diebold and Election Fraud
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too little, too late
In the same way that the RIAA is using the legal system to put off dealing with the holes in their plan, activists are trying to use the legal system (and other means) to stop a process which has already completed.
I'm not saying that we have given up something in exchange for file sharing. I'm saying that the world has already changed, and that we haven't caught up with it.
So emailing it to your senators, your representative, your mother... each would be equally effective. Even if your mom is Grace Murray Hopper, even if you've managed to resurrect her from the dead, even if you took her on a Zombie Hackers tour to every Diebold machine in the world and fixed them, or killed them, or both...
This is just a symptom. The problem of suspicious vote counting is not at all discrete. It's part of an avalanche of transformation.
Let us assume that there is, indeed, a plot to steal the election, and that we have foiled it. The perpetrators are in prison, awaiting trial, and the election proceeds with the blessed assurance of fairness in the voter interface.
The corporations still own the government. Legal bribes are available, i.e., campaign contributions. Corporations claim the same rights as individuals (the lobbying industry), but assume few of the responsibilities. Then they employ lawyers to protect them from this reduced list of responsibliities--and they deduct the cost of these lawyers from their tax obligations.
It would appear that a revolution is in order. The current system of government in these United States has far too much corruption, too extensive and entrenched for reform. My greatest concern is that the people will remain voluntarily blind, such that they know what there is to do and yet do not do it out of fear.
My opinion is that it will take a large and absolute exposure of some corrupt aspect to galvanize US citizens. The current administration has proven its manipulative abilities, though. We will require a major mistake, an attendant cover-up attempt, and at least one journalist willing to risk it all.
Of course it's possible. It just doesn't seem likely.
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old fashioned way
Given a choice between election night results/high chance of fraud and election results a month after/little to no chance of fraud - I say, hand me the pencil, I mastered filling in circles a long time ago! It seems to be the media, not the electorate, demanding instant results. I would rather wait a month - as we had to in 2000, although I would prefer it not be the same reasons - and feel confident the vote is the result of the will of the people.
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Votes?
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Re: Votes?
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So if our government and the media are doing everything they can to control our actions by making us fearful, wouldn't they be the only true "terrorists"?
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/terror
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So my big question to you, Mr. Kerry is this: "WHY? WHY? WHY?? Did you give up the election so easily. If 04 truly was the most important election of our lifetime, then why did you not fight for it? Please be specific."
I fear it was because he was shown the evidence that he could not win the election because it was rigged.
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Re:
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State of the Union
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Bought and paid for
Bought and paid for, so why should politicians give up such a valuable resource that can ensure they are re-elected.
Also, remember, the Ohio machines had NO WAY of confirming that your vote was actually counted for the candidate you chose.
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Dateline: November 2008
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Re: Dateline: November 2008
President Fred Flintstone further stunned Congress and the world when in response to allegations from the opposition he replied "I did not have improper relations with Dino, we only smoked a cigar together". He again shocked the members when in response to the question "Where is your moral fiber?" he replied "That depends on what your definition of 'is' is".
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President idol
That is hilarious. Even more funny [scary] is the thought that mass media can actually make this happen.
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i used to believe in democracy
then i learned there was no such thing
i wish i was raised unsheltered from the harsh bullshit of reality, then waking up to the corruption wouldnt have been as alarming
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Interesting
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Re: Interesting
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crooked republican nutjobs
Crooked is as crooked does.
Check out Cayahuga County voting in 04 election. Someone explain to me how one of the most minority filled cities in the country went only 67%-33% in Kerry's favor when every other major city was 80-20 (outside texas of course).
Coup d'etat in 2000, voter fraud in 2004. A recipe for an 8 year presidential term
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Florida's Legislative Fix
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Voting machines
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Make corruption in office a capital crime...
Let's offer an Constitutional Amendment: mandatory 25-to-life (no parole) for those that offer or accept bribes in office. This is a bigger threat than gay marriage could ever hope to be.
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