E-Voting Raises New Questions in Brazil

[arcos]

E-Voting Raises New Questions in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Elections in Brazil used to be a monumental challenge, with millions of paper ballots to count by hand, many of them delivered by canoe and horseback from remote Amazon villages. Fraud was widespread, and it often took a week or more to determine the winners.

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Some Brazilians are lobbying the tribunal to switch from Windows CE to an open-source operating system for the voting machines, since Microsoft Corp., citing trade secrecy, won't allow independent audits to make sure malicious programmers haven't inserted commands to"flip"votes from one candidate to another.

<snip>

Brazil's machines are made by Diebold Procomp, the Brazilian subsidiary of Diebold Inc., of North Canton, Ohio, which also makes many of the voting machines now used in U.S. elections. And Diebold has said that voters should trust its equipment, more than any paper record, to deliver fraud-free elections.

<snip>

"The more you introduce paper into a voting system the more you introduce the possibility of fraud,"said Michael Jacobsen, a Diebold spokesman."Electronic voting is the most accurate and secure voting that is out there."

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http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Sep29/0,4670,BrazilElectronicVoting,00.html


It is kind of weird that it is actually Fox the one to publish this, but it is well worth the reading.

[Flanker]

1. Hopefully they will purchase smartmatic machines

nm

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. I'll tell you why Fox is running this.

Lula is poised to win, probably with enough margin to eliminate the need for a runoff.

It's like the IRS going after liberal churches.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Well, that's an interesting argument, and maybe things work in reverse

in South America, like the weather and bathtub swirls. But Bush and the Torture Congress establish that how things work here is that, first you install Diebold voting machines with trade secret, proprietary programming, then you have unjust, illegal war, the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people, multiple tax cuts for the super-rich, a $10 trillion deficit, torture, arrest without a warrant and indefinite detention without recourse at the whim of the chief fascist pig, and the pigs just stay in power, no matter what 60% to 70% of the slave labor and cannon fodder think.

Maybe in Brazil there is a leftist in the wings that is better than Lulu that they're trying to keep out. That happened in Peru. A strong leftist, allied with Chavez (Venezuela) and Morales (Bolivia)--a 100% indigenous Andes Indian (like Morales), Ollanta Humala--entered the presidential race this year--coming out of nowhere with no political experience and no corporate support--and won 30% of the vote, knocking the rightwing candidate out of the race. The Bushites and corporatists had no choice but to back a corrupt leftist (Garcia) to prevent Ollanta Humala from getting elected. Humala nevertheless increased his support to 45% in the general election and came close to winning the presidency. The key difference between Humala and Garcia is World Bank/IMF/US domination and global corporate predators (mostly US-based) stealing So. American resources and looting their economies. Also, the murderous US "war on drugs." Garcia--although a social progressive-- is all for US domination. He will further wreck Peru's economy--as Argentina's was wrecked--then the real leftist will be elected and have to pick up the pieces.

I'm not saying that Lulu isn't a real leftist. I don't know that much about Brazilian politics. I know he led the amazing and successful third world revolt against the WTO in Cancun a few years ago, and he's from a working class background--a former steelworker. After Venezuela helped bail Argentina out of World Bank debt, Argentina and Brazil started talks about creating a common currency (like the euro), to get off the dollar, which I'm sure would be good for both countries, and also follows the new So. American political philosophy, called Bolivarianism in the Andes, and anti-neoliberalism (US domination) generally, which encourages regional self-determination and solidarity. But I don't know if LuLu represents the best of the left, policywise, for Brazil. Is it possible that he is the best that Bushites/Corporatists can hope for, in a far left field--and that that's what Diebold's interest is? Really, I can't imagine that Diebold has any good intentions there. Diebold is rotten to the core. So they are most probably plotting Lulu's overthrow, via "trade secret" vote tabulation.

I hope Brazilians know what to do with Diebold voting machines. All they have to do is look north at Bush and the Diebold Congress to know what is in store for them if they let Diebold take over their elections.

The huge, peaceful, democratic, leftist (majorityist) revolution that is sweeping Latin America is forcing people like Condi Rice to deal with people like socialist Michele Batchelet--first woman president of Chile, who was tortured by the US-dictator Pinochet. Condi of course is Ms. Torture, the Chevron/Bush Cartel ghoul who no doubt watches waterboarding videos late at night with George. Can you imagine what Michele Batchelet must think of her? Apparently, Condi got nowhere trying to strongarm Batchelet and other So. American leaders to prevent Venezuela from taking a seat on the UN Security Council next year (--the So. Americans are pulling together on this and supporting Venezuela's bid). But I guess things could be worse for the Bushites. Che could come back from the dead. No, actually that would be easier for them. What they can't deal with is peaceful revolution and democracy.

[arcos]

5. I think you mean Lula, not Lulu... nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. But Lulu must be a leftist too!

I mean, look at the color of that dress! And notice how much she likes to talk to the crowds!

[arcos]

4. I understand your point...

However, I don't think they would dare to run this if it would harm the GOP in November.

And I want to ask you a personal question (well, sort of). Do you trust the e-voting machines in? I'm Costa Rican, and they've tried to make us use the "Brazilian machines" for a while now, but because they lack the budget to implement it they haven't done so... but it still worries me, it is not only Diebold, but the whole e-voting thing. Lula is poised to win in a landslide as I have read, but if he were in a tight election, would you feel comfortable with them?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. Economic power here is aligned to a coalition other than that in power

So no, I don't think they could pull it off.

[arcos]

8. My question was regardless of who's in power...

My point is not to argue but to find out more about these machines. :P

What's the general population opinion of them? Do you trust them?