'It Could Have Been Worse' Hardly Seems Like A Defense Of E-Voting Technology

from the just-imagine-how-bad-it-could-have-been dept

Wed, Jan 3rd 2007 11:41pm — Mike Masnick

With a new report coming out that highlights many of the problems that voters using e-voting machines faced in the last election, it's more interesting to look at the response from supporters of those machines. An article in the Houston Chronicle mentions the report and then quotes someone defending the machines by giving the "it could have been worse" defense: "Failure will happen.... Critical failures are ones in which voters are turned away. By and large, looking at the last general election, we consider it a success." Given just how many problems there were, and how widespread they were, it seems pretty ridiculous to consider "success" to be a lack of catastrophic errors (which some people might disagree with). Certainly, it could have been much worse, but with something as important as democratic voting, you would think that a higher standard would be used.

11 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

DigitalBomb, 4 Jan 2007 @ 3:20am

E-voting already sickens me. I don't want my ideas turned into data and sent over a network that could be potentially compromised. I also don't want them to have to pass through a program that someone random made. I'm a programmer and if anyone had offered me a job making a program to handle voting, I'd have to hurt them for being a sick individual.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- KB, 4 Jan 2007 @ 7:42am
  
  Re:
  Your ideas????? Since when is there a comment field on an election ballot.
  
  I find the whole thing hilarious personally. It makes no difference whether the system is electronic or manual, it's still a flawed system. The States is rapidly becoming the most non-democratic country on the planet and most of the tagged-and-bagged consumer-citizens don't even see it!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Sanguine Dream, 4 Jan 2007 @ 8:19am
    
    Re: Re:
    But the worst part is that those that do see it can't really do anything about it. Yeah you can write letters, protest, and so but just how much good do those do when you have corporations literally paying politicians to have custom-made laws? I'm not saying people should just roll over and take it but it's a serious uphill battle and it's gonna take a lot more than some protest slogans, enlightening letters to the editor, and insightful blog to repair things.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Apathy Party, 4 Jan 2007 @ 4:26am

Thank Got New York Uses the Lever
All I have to say is,

Gerald Ford's Head: Frankly, I've never felt voting to be all that essential to the process.
Richard Nixon's Head: No kidding, Ford!

Too Soon? Should I have waited 22.3 years.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
misanthropic humanist, 4 Jan 2007 @ 7:07am

second best
It's odd that a country that sees itself as the champion of democracy is happy to settle for a second rate democratic process.

I can see the breakup of the United States in the not too distant future unless this is addressed post haste.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
citizenj, 4 Jan 2007 @ 7:31am

Thank Got....
yes, but do the voters get shiny new metal bodies? cuz hey, i'd vote for nixon......

no i wouldn't. nevermind.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bob, 4 Jan 2007 @ 7:33am

Dont worry
Don't worry your vote wont count anyway.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Skot Elektron, 4 Jan 2007 @ 8:35am

syntax error
"democratic voting"? last time i checked we were in a republic... and there aren't any real democracies. not yet, anyway. democracy implies equal voice. maybe that is why we need to support the technology. can you tell i worked for diebold elections systems??? LOL CONTRACTOR... not full-time ;)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2007 @ 12:00pm
  
  Re: syntax error
  "last time i checked we were in a republic"
  
  Not according to your Commander-in-chief..... He's been sailing round the world bombing people for the last 5 years under the guise of spreading democracy. (And to tie in to the thread...) maybe i you hadn't voted him in (or did you?) you wouldn't have this problem.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Tyshaun, 4 Jan 2007 @ 1:26pm
  
  Re: syntax error
  ENOUGH OF THE DEMOCRACY VERSUS REPUBLIC THING!
  
  It isn't funny anymore. Everytime there is a discourse on voting on techDirt someone brings out the old "well it's actually a republic and not a democracy!"
  
  OK, we get it, you paid attention in high school social studies. Just remember, most people in the US and the world will refer to it as a democracy and the term loosely has come to mean a system of government in which people vote for their leadership (as opposed to the other generic term dictatorship, which has come to include monarchies, true dictatorship, and any flavor of government not considered a democracy).
  
  Again, the above definitions are not precise, but that is how they are being used by most people (even those smarty pants political commentators on TV) so deal!
  
  As per the voting machines, I'm just gonna sit back and wait until we get the reports of politicians paying off hackers to swing elections and the throngs of people saying "how can this be, how could this happen"
  
  "Freedom isn't free. Freedom demands the diligence and discipline to monitor our leaders and sometimes freedom requires the blood of heroes to protect it"
  - JFK
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Alex Austin (profile), 5 Jan 2007 @ 1:45am

Of course voting is insecure.
If someone can write believable satire about it... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061027/123128.shtml
[ link to this | view in chronology ]