The Sac Bee has just published a report that bi-partisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives are proposing Legislation to bring back paper ballots as early as next years presidential election. In that report it quotes Bakersfield Congressman Kevin McCarthy who calls this an ‘unfunded mandate’ “because it will impose huge costs on the state for replacing voting equipment without sufficient federal reimbursement.”
So while we wait for a judicial ruling on the winner of the First Supervisorial District race this coming Monday, in which the debate has centered on paper or electronic voting, our federal government continues to practice their track record of “ready, fire, aim.” If electronic balloting was touted as the panacean solution to assure that “every vote counts and every vote will be counted,” why than are we now reversing direction?
Juice readers:
What’s your views on electronic voting?
If Congress passes this mandate should we demand full reimbursement for any state funds already spent to procure the electronic machines currently in use?
Should we take any action before getting federal funds required to switch back?
The machines aren’t secure. They’re badly made. They’re very expensive. They use closed software managed by shady people at shady companies.
The only real upside is that they spit out results quickly. I think it matters though that said result is essentially meaningless. Hell, you might as well pay someone off the street $5 to yell out a result at the end of the night and go with that.
If you’re really interested in the topic of DRE voting, check out the Brad Blog. Brad Friedman is the man and his site will tell you everything you need to know to be informed on this topic.
I like the electronic voting machines.
As far as them being “insecure” you could say that about absentee voting and paper voting at the polls.
How does anyone know that when they drop their ballot in the mail, that it will actually get to the ROV?
How does anyone know that when they drop their ballot off at the polls that it will actually get to the ROV?
Just food for thought.
I am against electronic voting for some of the same reasons that Mike DeFreitas pointed out: they’re not secure and they use software that has not been publicly verified. While paper ballots can also be tampered with, as a computer programmer, I know how easy it is to modify huge amount of data very easily. Far easier than with paper ballots.
The Brad Blog is an excellent resource on this point.
Let’s see I can go on-line and transfer money from one bank to another securely, but I have to use a piece of paper to vote, which then gets passed from hand-to-hand. Seems like the Luddites are in charge of our Voting mechanism – no wonder no one under 50 votes.
WRONG.
NONE OF THE ABOVE.
Let’s vote by mail.
All the problems with the vote count for the 1st supervisor job is with the paper absentee ballots.
There has not been one single problem with the E-slate counting or recounting in any election they have been used in.
It has been proven time and again that the paper ballots are not secure and the change of the vote totals on the 1st district has proven the big joke of paper ballots again.
I think the paper ballots should be banned.
Vote by mail? Are you kidding me? The same USPS that still has my check to the Franchise Tax Board from 2 yrs ago? The same that has a valintines card my mom sent and delivered one to my wife, RTS the one to my daughter, and made mine disapear? Oh yes, the Ludites are in control. If you have a problem with the Evote system you can vote by other means right now. Lets not step backward but forward.
No, I’m not kidding you. A good number of us are voting by mail already. That number will continue to grow.
In the 2006 election cycle nearly 25% of votes in Orange County were cast by mail, and most of them were returned within 48 hours after they were recieved meaning a quarter of the electorate voted three weeks before everyone else.
The number of votes by mail continues to grow in each election cycle.
It is time for a national voting holiday. Even the “Luddites” might enjoy devoting time for this national event. Paper, electronics, vote by mail all can have a problem. A dedicated day could make for a better result.
But crooks will be crooks no matter what the good intented folks try to accomplish.
This legislative proposal is the full employment act for lobbyists representing most any kind of voting system imaginable. What a lobbyist feast this must be! Great time for federal electeds to be holding fund raisers to which this industry and its representatives are invited —-
Anonymous 9:47
If banks ATMs handled electronic money transfers the way voting machines handle the vote, they would be bankrupt.
anon #11
what are you talking about, when did the banks with ATM’s electronic transfers go bankrupt?
Saying no to technology is
…saying no to life. Heck,
who wants an MRI when you
can get a foggy X-Ray that
causes cancer instead. The
glitches are there..no doubt..but so are the great
possiblities….to speed up
the reporting process. Does
anyone remember when it took
three to six weeks to count
ballots after election night? Polling places will
soon be a thing of the past.
When they are able to give
out a paper ballot receipt..
and make it possible to pull
up your own vote a month
after the election…..ww
will have the voting system
that is “Hacker proof”.
How much does it cost? Who
cares!
w