Hacking the Election

[Sayhey]

In a recent test by Maryland the eletronic voting machines used there were easily hacked and results changed.

Concerned citizens have been warning that new electronic voting technology being rolled out nationwide can be used to steal elections. Now there is proof. When the State of Maryland hired a computer security firm to test its new machines, these paid hackers had little trouble casting multiple votes and taking over the machines' vote-recording mechanisms. The Maryland study shows convincingly that more security is needed for electronic voting, starting with voter-verified paper trails.

New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/31/opinion/31SAT1.html?th)

[Desertrat]

Wasn't that the general consensus, back last summer/fall when we kicked this subject around?

"If it can be hacked, it will be hacked."

'Rat

[Maclarny]

Where's our democracy heading if we can't count the votes like in '00 and now our votes can be easily hacked by anyone? Scary...

[Desertrat]

Isn't it the data transmission via phone lines which can be hacked? So, counties can collect the data from the voting precincts, and then the central office can phone each county and get the results. Or, the counties could FAX in their results.

Slowness of vote count has long been in the physical counting at the precinct level, and the slowness in getting those results to the county level.

Regardless, it oughta be easy enough for each precinct and each county to print out a hardcopy of their results for later comparison.

'Rat

[pseudobrit]

I'm all for paper ballots and hand counting at this point.

There's enough anti-counterfeit technology out there for good ol' paper to make cheating very difficult.

Windows, on the other hand seems designed for failure.

Why are we basing the most important part of our society on a product from a company that has shown us nothing but failure?

Why are they pushing this forward despite the consistent failure of the system security? Wouldn't you think that a first whiff of trouble they'd scrap it and go back to the drawing board? No! They just patch it and soldier on... ugh.

[Desertrat]

Apropos of nothing at all, pseudobrit, I generally don't pay attention to the mouthings of aristocrats, whether self-styled or so-labelled by others. But I've long been strongly in accord with the thought expressed in your signature line.

:D, 'Rat

[SPG]

Poll workers in Alameda County noticed something strange on election night in October. As a computer counted absentee ballots in the recall race, workers were stunned to see a big surge in support for a fringe candidate named John Burton.

Concerned that their new $12.7 million Diebold electronic voting system had developed a glitch, election officials turned to a company representative who happened to be on hand.

Lucky he was there. For an unknown reason, the computerized tally program had begun to award votes for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante to Burton, a socialist from Southern California.

Similar mishaps have occurred across the country since election officials embraced electronic voting in the wake of the Florida vote-counting debacle of 2000.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/7849090.htm

via http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_atrios_archive.html#107568709959781905

[diamond geezer]

People say that you cant use the old paper and marker pen ballots, because they take to long to count.

Why does that matter? I'd rather have a vote that take 2 days to count, but gets the result right.

Is it a problem for TV networks programming that is forcing this requirement for speed?

[Thanatoast]

how can building a voting machine be that frickin difficult? i could write a simple program in q-basic in half an hour that would count votes and print out totals. it could be checked for tampering in about two minutes. how much money are we spending on these morons?

[zimv20]

Originally posted by Thanatoast
i could write a simple program in q-basic in half an hour that would count votes and print out totals. it could be checked for tampering in about two minutes.

heh heh. i guess you've never coded for a government project. some of the things i've seen...

[Desertrat]

DG, when you see what TV money has done to (for?) football and car racing, why wouldn't political conventions and voting not be drawn into the whirlpool? (My river guide buddies tend to call a whirlpool a "suckhole"--which seems apropos...)

'Rat

[Frohickey]

I would rather that voting is via the old tried-and-tested method of paper and pen.

I would not be averse to have election day coincide with income tax return day. Or, if the need arises, split income tax return day into 4 days each quarter. So you could have primaries, general and special elections at set times during the year.

Not only will votes be counted, but money would be collected as well.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by Frohickey
I would rather that voting is via the old tried-and-tested method of paper and pen.


yes, accuracy is more important than expediency

[pseudobrit]

Originally posted by Frohickey
I would rather that voting is via the old tried-and-tested method of paper and pen.

I would not be averse to have election day coincide with income tax return day. Or, if the need arises, split income tax return day into 4 days each quarter. So you could have primaries, general and special elections at set times during the year.

Not only will votes be counted, but money would be collected as well.

Not a bad idea. I say go further and make Election Day a federal holiday.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by pseudobrit
make Election Day a federal holiday.

when i had my company, we allowed employees to charge in up to 4 hours to vote

[Frohickey]

Originally posted by pseudobrit
Not a bad idea. I say go further and make Election Day a federal holiday.

Good idea.

Make election day / income tax days be
Jan 19th (MLKjr day)
July 4th (Independence day)
Sept 6th (Labor day)

3 possible primary/general election days... you get to meet your fellow citizens during the federal holiday as you mail in your income taxes

[mactastic]

But I thought the 4th and Labor Day were for partyin' and drinkin' and watchin' sports! Who's gonna want to do their taxes or vote in that condition? :p