BBV article from L.A. Times

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

needs free registration...

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-me-votetech2mar02,1,648653.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Chads Out, but Controversy Remains
An electronic ballot awaits 43% of the state's registered voters today. Some experts worry.
By Allison Hoffman
Times Staff Writer

March 2, 2004

As Californians go to the polls today, those casting ballots in 14 counties, home to 43% of the state's 15.1 million registered voters, will use electronic machines — part of a massive national experiment in new technology that pits the hope of fewer errors against the fear of election-night computer hacking.

Supporters, who include many of the state's registrars, say the new systems promise paperless elections that are cheaper to administer, faster to tally and free of the paper chads that gained infamy in the last presidential election.

Touch screens prompt voters to make selections in all races and let them review their choices, reducing the chance that voters inadvertently will skip a race. The machines also display ballots in multiple languages. Audio units allow blind voters to cast ballots without assistance. Centralized databases allow voters to go to any polling place in their county and cast local ballots.

But some computer scientists and election watchdog groups have raised questions about the security of electronic voting. They contend that the machines are vulnerable to software bugs or "malicious" code and lack the simple guarantee of a paper ballot, which can be recounted and examined by hand.

...

[dusty64]

1. Better late than never.

I wish the media had discovered an interest in this issue way before primary and election day, but any strange events ought to get some attention and I'm sure there will be some.