GAO Says E-Voting Machines Not The Problem In Florida; E-Voting Experts Not So Sure
from the needs-more-testing dept
In the ongoing saga of the lost votes of Sarasota County Florida in the 2006 election, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has now come out with a report suggesting that the e- voting machines were not to blame. This comes after another report last year also said the machines weren't to blame. However, that report came under some criticism as it only involved security folks looking at the source code, rather than actually getting to test the software on an e-voting machine itself. Similarly, this new GAO report is coming under some criticism as both David Dill and Ed Felten are questioning the methodology of the GAO's tests -- which do sound rather limited. Felten points out that ES&S (makers of the machines used in Sarasota) are likely to proclaim this a vindication. However, there are still plenty of additional questions -- and, most importantly, the very fact that it's been so difficult to verify how the voting turned out shows just how problematic these machines can be in managing a democratic election that the populace can trust to be both fair and accurate.
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.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: david dill, e-voting, ed felten, florida, gao
Companies: es&s
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Simple equation
The fogeys don't even trust their care providers, you think they trust those newfangled voting robots?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
They decided that they didn't want to be laughed out of court. I can understand their sentiment.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It's tough to tell
No, I'm not a troll -- why do you ask?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I didn't say they didn't want to go to court, I said they didn't even want to investigate it.
Nice spin though. That is what people really think about voter fraud. Can you name one person that was ever investigated or charged with voter fraud? One? You will have to look pretty long and hard to find anyone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Name One
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: alleged voter fraud
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Go easy on the GAO
The criticism of this report does seem justified, however. The GAO has to apply expertise to just about every subject you can think of, and the rest of the government is not always (or really ever) very cooperative. Their challenge is great.
This particular issue is only more complex with the technology involved--and it makes sense that it would be extremely difficult to untangle the heart of the issue.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
From a 2004 article in the New York Times about a rational state like Ohio
"From seven-hour lines that drove voters away to malfunctioning machines to poorly trained poll workers who directed people to the wrong polling places to uneven policies about the use of provisional ballots, Ohio has become this year's example for every ailment in the United States' electoral process."
The main issue is that no one wants to invest significant amounts of money for something that happens once every 2 or 4 years.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Convicted in 1982. I think that is covered under the "look pretty long" comment.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I suspect the "problem" with these machines and software is more politically motivated
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What are you Communists?
Sure the republican secretary of state in ohio violated all kinds of laws in 2004, and recounts in cuyahoga county violated all kinds of laws that even led to indictments and jail time.
Sure exit polls are scientifically proven, even used by the UN to monitor rigged elections, but the proven technology failed because fox says the scanners and diebold e-voting machines worked.
Clint Curtis? Just another conspiracist programmer. He might have passed a lie detector test regarding his acquisitions that he was employed to rig election software for the GOP but he's a damn commi too.
Florida state investigator Ray Lemme? Its just a coincidence that the man investigating the curtis claims committed suicide in GA, a state without mandatory autopsies.
Only real commis whine about honest democratic elections.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Its not like she knowingly voted in 2 different states like the thousand names turned over to the FBI like in Florida and New York. Those were all ignored.
Hell, Hillary supported NY's effort to give drivers license to illegal immigrants. Once they had a drivers license, it would be illegal to even ask them if they had a right to vote, as the drivers license is the ticket to voter registration in NY. Why does Hillary Clinton want illegal immigrants to vote? Because she is the devil and will do anything to get elected.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]