Does the legitimacy of the term BBV diminish if the perception of Bev is

[henslee]

diminished (rightfully so or not)? Is she the one who coined the phrase and if so, is there a better term that I should be using? Electronic voting, paperless voting, E-voting. The many diff. terms make a layman's explanation of the whole deal a bit daunting.

[wyldwolf]

1. I would say no

I think the issue is real and I believe Bev may have just been unprepared for the publicity.

Perhaps she needs an agent?

[henslee]

2. Good re-edit. I always do that! I just don't want BBV to ever become the

Tin Foil Hat of 2004. Language is everything. It really is.

[wyldwolf]

8. I believe Bev is passionate about the issue BUT...

...the issue needs someone else to pick up the torch and run with it.

Bev, to me, is a passionate activist who may, in some way, resent the publicity she has gotten and she may be very possesive of the issue.

Just my opinion.

[salin]

3. Too many people have been working on the issue

from different fronts for this to be the case. University folks (MIT, Stanford, Swarthmore among others)... too many different groups working on state efforts in NH, Fla and Ohio... and then do not downplay the significance of the thirty years plus (?) old organization Common Cause who has been involved in campaign finance issues and related integrity issues since their inception that is now actively involved (without show-boating, it appears) that has access to many, many volunteers.

[Stephanie]

4. Did Bev actually coin the term? I doubt it. Links to old articles here >

This is an old DU thread with articles from last year and before, and below is an article from there about BBV which does not mention Bev.

Electronic Voting Links Library

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3339650/

Black Box Voting Blues
Electronic ballot technology makes things easy. But some computer-security experts warn of the possibility of stolen elections
By Steven Levy
Newsweek

Nov. 3 issue - After the traumas of butterfly ballots and hanging chad, election officials are embracing a brave new ballot: sleek, touch-screen terminals known as direct recording electronic voting systems (DRE). States are starting to replace their Rube Goldbergesque technology with digital devices like the Diebold Accu-Vote voting terminal. Georgia uses Diebolds exclusively, and other states have spent millions on such machines, funded in part by the 2002 federal Help America Vote Act. Many more terminals are on the way....

[havocmom]

5. Yes, and it might be a damned good idea to use other terms.

The term BBV had some shortcomings anyway. Just a bit too Area 51/X-File-ish for some of the public. Now it has become the punchline of a neocon joke, perhaps accidentally, perhaps by plan. The behavior of the most well known poster child for the term certainly has not helped the term gain credibility at a time when credibility is most important.

'Paperless voting' is a term which would get the message through to more voters, IMHO. It is simple and accurately descriptive. It lacks the intimidating tech signature of BBV. We need to accept that a high percent of the population does not understand much about how computer programming works, nor are they remotely interested. Reminding them they are now voting without paper will ring more bells. They don't go to the store without expecting a piece of paper to verify the accuracy of their transaction. Easier to get their attention with the term paperless. It is something they can relate to.

[Stephanie]

6. In the beginning we were calling it "touchscreen voting"

Although I know that's not perfectly accurate, it does make it easy for people to grasp.

[Stephanie]

7. Actually, I like a DUer's screenname I just noticed: Invisible Ballots

That sort of sums it up, doesn't it?

[havocmom]

9. Invisible Ballots is good

We need to keep it where Joe Sixpack can relate and see the problem without going into a whole lot of tech. There are a lot of people driving cars who are clueless how the internal combustion engine works. We need to keep that in mind.

** OT to Stephanie: baby, it's cold out there!

[AndyTiedye]

10. Virtual Ballots and Virtual Voters...

..."elected" our pResident.