BBV: some interesting common ground between us and "them."

[Fridays Child]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/995894/posts

-snip-

There should always be a paper trail in something this important. Paperless voting will eventually lead to some very strange situations. It is just a matter of time. The decision-makers have been razzle-dazzled by the high-tech advocates and the hardware/software salesmen, or worse, some of them may be knowing-participants in the scam.


6 posted on 10/06/2003 3:51 AM PDT

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Activists are demanding that ballot machine vendors include printers that produce paper receipts so citizens can confirm that paper results match their touch-screen choices. Receipts would go into a county lock-box for use in recounts.

For the life of me I don't understand why we would accept anything less. There has to be SOME paper trail!


7 posted on 10/06/2003 3:56 AM PDT

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There isn't. After 20 years of voting with punch cards, and never a problem with chads, we switched to touchscreen computers in the last election. *Zero* paper trail.

My state rep seems concerned, and now seems to understand the issue, but there also seems to be a "well, we spent all this money, we can't go back" attitude.


8 posted on 10/06/2003 4:00 AM PDT

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Face it folks, many of us don't have the intelligence to nod our collective heads up and down to signify yes, never mind touching a computer screen to vote.

It's time to go back to the piece of paper and draw a picture of the guy or gal you are voting for.

Don't worry if the election officials will recognize who you have drawn.

They are trained professionals and will decipher it for you.


9 posted on 10/06/2003 4:01 AM PDT

-snip-

[Gman]

1. I noticed this a few days ago

The folks at FR have the very same concerns we do. And that's about as far as I want to go with that thought.

[Fridays Child]

2. I'll go a bit further: The potential for an uncommonly broad coalition...

...to make auditable voting systems mandatory should be exploited.

[Andy_Stephenson]

3. It is a basis for a coallition

which shooud not be missed!

[Fridays Child]

4. Gmta, G_b_n_c!

:)

[eridani]

5. Some of 'them' appear to be smart enough....

..to know that a system that can be rigged is a weapon that can be pointed both ways.

[BevHarris]

6. One of the first posters at the forum at BBV.com

(not a very active forum at the time) is a computer scientist from Free Republic who has corresponded with me off and on for several months.

It is a mistake to think this is an issue controlled by party lines. A more accurate way to conceive of it is like the campaign finance problem -- Republicans tend to get more money, more benefit, but Democrats also get dirtied by a poor set of election laws.

Bev