Electronic voting: Are you concerned?

Concerned? Yes, these machines as currently configured leave no paper trail. Action? As far as I know my state (Connecticut) is still using mechanical voting machines and there is not much I can do about decisions made by other states.

suzy

Yes, I've been watching this story in California. Diebold is also, of course, not only a big financial supporter of the Bush administration, but has been quite explicit in statements to this effect. That does make the matter even more worthy of attention. Let's keep an eye on what Shelley does.

Good point. When I voted last time, we still had the butterfly ballots in my district. (The kind where you draw the line, is that what they're called?)
I think the idea is outrageously bad, and despite whether or not our state uses them, we will all be affected by 'bad" machines in national elections.
One voting fiasco was enough! You can still write to your reps and let them know what you think.
I plan to. I think voting should be standardized, anyway. And definetly paper trails.

Diebold is the biggest threat to our democracy since the Rehnquist Five ordered ballots not counted in Florida. We know what disaster followed.

I don't trust any system with no accountability. To me, it is criminal to launch such a system.

Definitely paper trails.

Print em out on pillowy soft bathroom tissue...we don't care

I'm more concerned about technophobes holding up progress that some third world countries have already undertaken.

Typing here from LudditeCentral, I wish to ensure you that those of us who bemoan everything past the printing press, will be happy to accept voting machines, given merely that they are vetted by truly knowledgeable and independent bodies (the Teamsters, perhaps) and that little bits of cellulose spit out the bottom.

ES&S Project Manager Resigns Over Voting Machine Problem
We should be glad there are still some good people who care about honest elections.---BBB

May 11, 2004 - Indianappolis WISH TV
ES&S Project Manager Resigns Over Voting Machine Problems
Wendy Orange, former ES&S project manager
By Eric Halvorson and Loni Smith McKown

The woman who blew the whistle on problems in the Marion County voting system will now watch the situation from the outside.

You shouldn't know about Wendy Orange. She should be someone who served behind the scenes to make our elections work. Orange became a public figure when she revealed voting machine problems. She blamed her employer, Election Systems and Software (ES&S).

Voting machine problems drove former ES&S project manager Wendy Orange to resign. She says ES&S knew it had a software problem and then tried to hide it.

"I was faced with a moral and ethical dilemma and I felt the only thing that I could do was come forward and tell the Marion County clerk what had happened," said Orange.

"Needless to say, I was very angry at the situation. Also concerned about Wendy because, here, she works for this company and she's in a terrible position as an employee who is telling the client something the employer doesn't want known," said Doris Anne Sadler, Marion County clerk.

In this case, the client is Marion County represented by clerk Sadler. Sadler says that put the county in the same position as Orange - questioning the credibility of ES&S.

"I think she was a very brave person for coming in and telling me the way she did," said Sadler.

In her letter of resignation, Orange said she found the corporate philosophy at ES&S to embody unethical and disreputable practices. She said she had "personally witnessed open discussions of potentially illegal procedures."

"I have since learned that the standards to which I hold myself, I don't believe ES&S holds those same standards and values," said Orange.

Orange calls all of this extremely disappointing, considering her admiration for ES&S when she joined the Nebraska company. "I was impressed with the people that I met, and with the products that they provided and with the services they provided," said Orange.

Her resignation became effective Monday. "I hope my concerns were heard all the way at the top. I really do and I hope that's where the change will start," she said.

ES&S says it regrets losing any of its employees. In a letter to Orange, the company says it is disappointed and disagrees with her claims. It goes on to say that ES&S adheres to the highest ethical standards and is firmly committed to producing quality results for all of its customers, including Marion County.

Sadler has asked Orange to serve on a task force to improve the election system here.

Bloody nonsense !! Technology is fine in its place and its place is serving us.

Do you prefer bells and whistles to accuracy and accountability ?

Judge Dismisses Florida Voting Lawsuit
Judge Dismisses Florida Voting Lawsuit
Mon May 24, 2004

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A federal judge Monday threw out a Democratic congressman's lawsuit demanding that Florida's new touchscreen voting machines issue a paper receipt.

It was the second time Rep. Robert Wexler was turned back in his legal challenge of the machines. A lawsuit filed in state court was dismissed in February, and Wexler has appealed.

In dismissing the federal complaint, U.S. District Judge James Cohn said he cannot get involved because the issue is being considered by the state courts.

Also, Cohn said the lawsuit would require the federal courts to become deeply involved with election procedures, which typically are left to the states.

Several Florida counties spent millions on the touchscreen systems after the 2000 presidential election fiasco, in which thousands of punchcard ballots were improperly marked. George W. Bush beat Al Gore by 537 votes in the state after a turbulent recount.

Wexler argued that without a printout, voters in Florida's 15 touchscreen counties are being denied their right to have their votes accurately recorded, reported and recounted if necessary.

The congressman's complaint in state court was thrown out because the judge ruled that Wexler could not show that he had been injured by the voting system.
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On the Net:

Florida Department of State: http://www.dos.state.fl.us

Wexler: http://www.wexler.house.gov

Re: Judge Dismisses Florida Voting Lawsuit


This breaks new legal ground, particularly for Florida.