(bbv) Voting-machine critic will be the judge today (Md)

[salin]

Voting-machine critic will be the judge today

No security woes expected, but training not reassuring

By Johnathon E. Briggs
Sun Staff
Originally published March 2, 2004

If your polling place happens to be Trinity Assembly of God in Lutherville, you might run into a bespectacled election judge today who respects your right to cast a ballot, but not the electronic machines you'll use to do it.

The judge? Aviel D. Rubin, a Johns Hopkins University associate professor and one of the country's most outspoken critics of voting-machine security.

When the polls open at 7 a.m., he will be there to assist Super Tuesday voters with the new Diebold AccuVote-TS touch-screen machines, helping them navigate the ATM-like devices that his research shows are vulnerable to subversions by hackers ranging from casting multiple ballots to vote-switching.

---snip

In January, a consultant hired by the state said the results tallied by the devices can be trusted - with some added security measures. A bill before a General Assembly committee would require the addition of an auditable paper trail for the electronic voting machines.

Rubin, 36, said he volunteered to serve as an election judge because he cares about democracy and has been accused by critics of not having experience with voting procedures.

more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/elections/bal-md.rubin02mar02,0,4854412.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

[salin]

1. another bbv headline: Security tightened for e-voting's biggest test

Security tightened for e-voting's biggest test

Record number of electronic ballots to be cast Tuesday

By Rachel Konrad
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:49 p.m. ET March 01, 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. - With a record number of voters casting electronic ballots on Super Tuesday, election officials from California to Maryland are beefing up security to prevent problems ranging from software glitches to hackers.

In California, new security measures range from random tests of touch-screen machines by independent computer experts to a recommendation that poll workers prevent voters from carrying cell phones or other wireless devices into voting booths.

At least 10 million people in at least two dozen states are expected to cast primary ballots on machines built by Diebold, Sequoia Voting Systems, Electronic Systems & Software and other vendors.

And the electronic voting trend is accelerating: By November's presidential election, at least 50 million people will vote on touch-screens, compared with 55 million using paper, punch cards or lever machines, according to Washington-based Election Data Services.

more: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4424621/

[salin]

2. another bbv headline: Chads Out, but Controversy Remains

Chads Out, but Controversy Remains

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.

more (on a foxtv local station) http://fox40.trb.com/news/ktla-me-votetech2mar02-lat,0,1749992.story?coll=ktxl-news-3

[calimary]

4. I got one of those this morning - I have an ink smudge on my finger

and at first, didn't know why. It's because I played with the little point thingie on the end and got myself marked.

Heh heh heh, had to wait in line for a Democratic booth, too! Let the games begin.

[Bertha Venation]

3. GOOD!

Just like a liberal... always putting their money where their mouths are. Harrumph.

[Alpharetta]

5. I voted on an electronic machine today

Hated it.

I declared as a Democrat and they gave me a yellow card to stick in the machine.

The machine called it an invalid card.

They gave me another.

The machine called it an invalid card.

They gave me another.

The machine called it an invalid card.

One of the poll workers produced a yellow card from a source different than the stack for Democrats.

The machine accepted the card and permitted me to vote.

No receipt.

The experience did not inspire confidence.

[salin]

6. Would you consider

posting this in the General Discussion forum - and ask for others to share their experiences as well? It would be good to keep an anecdotal record of the range of experiences folks have.

[TroglodyteScholar]

7. about to go vote...

I don't see this topic in the general forum (forgive me, I don't have a lot of time to sift...)

Anyway, I'm about to hit the polls & will report back here if anything odd happens. I mentioned this in another thread...that I'm in a Georgia county that essentially lost an electronic ballot box in 2002...so I'm not terribly optimistic about these touch screen machines.

Anyone know of any groups organizing efforts to get legislation requiring auditable paper trails, etc?

[salin]

8. there are a number of folks here at DU who are

involved in several efforts (state level and federal level.) I am not directly involved, so am not the duer who can point you to those groups - but if we get something going in one of the general discussion forums - ask the question again - and I would bet that some who are involved will be able to point you in the right direction.

I look forward to hearing/reading about your experience. If I may ask... how is an electronic ballot box "lost"?

btw, welcome to du!

[TroglodyteScholar]

11. missing electronic votes

The votes are stored on memory cards. From Bev Harris's _Black Box Voting_:

"November 2002, Georgia: Fulton County election officials said that memory cards from 67 electronic voting machines had been misplaced, so ballots cast on those machines were left out of previously announced vote totals. Fifty-six cards, containing 2,180 ballots, were located, but 11 memory cards still were missing two days after the election. Bibb County and Glynn County each had one card missing after the initial vote count. When DeKalb County election officials went home early Wednesday morning, they were missing 10 cards."

There are more not-so-encouraging details in the book.



P.S. - Putting off my trip to the polling place until after the lunchtime rush.

[Greyskye]

9. Write to your local paper

Write to your local paper and share your experiences there. Get your local community as outraged as we are!

[salin]

10. to Alpharetta and Concerned Ga Voter

see this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1183345&mesg_id=1183345

Info on efforts going on ... and a place to record experiences.

[Alpharetta]

12. okay. will say the same thing there

thanks for the pointer

[The_Gopher]

13. i'm going to ask for a provisional ballot when i vote in MD today

[bearfan454]

14. kick

.