[Toshi]

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/?q=node/view/78

The central tabulator is far more vulnerable than the touch screen terminals. Think about it: If you were going to tamper with an election, would you rather tamper with 4,500 individual voting machines, or with just one machine, the central tabulator which receives votes from all the machines? Of course, the central tabulator is the most desirable target.

Findings: The GEMS central tabulator program is incorrectly designed and highly vulnerable to fraud. Election results can be changed in a matter of seconds. Part of the program we examined appears to be designed with election tampering in mind. We have also learned that election officials maintain inadequate controls over access to the central tabulator. We need to beef up procedures to mitigate risks.

Much of this information, originally published on July 8, 2003, has since been corroborated by formal studies (RABA) and by Diebold's own internal memos written by its programmers.

combine this with the lack of a paper trail in the voting machines themselves (the above is about the central tabulator that counts the votes) and the Diebold CEO's declaration that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year" (the reference is within the article, which is worthwhile to read on its own) and we have an election that very may well be rigged on our hands...

another article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml

"The concern that I have is not that somebody will tamper with the machine on Election Day and change the outcome. The concern I have is that those machines will be programmed from the start to favor one candidate over another and not to actually record and count the votes," says [ed: Avi, a CS prof at Johns Hopkins] Rubin.

 

[quadricolour]

I don't understand how electronic voting isn't a bigger story, it's such a critical issue from so many angles. Just following the Diebold money trail - where their donations go, where their interests lie - gives some scary possible scenarios.

A good resource: http://eff.org/Activism/E-voting/

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/?q=node/view/78


combine this with the lack of a paper trail in the voting machines themselves (the above is about the central tabulator that counts the votes) and the Diebold CEO's declaration that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year" (the reference is within the article, which is worthwhile to read on its own) and we have an election that very may well be rigged on our hands...

another article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml

hmm, seems to me that electronic voting thing is a trend in places where frauds are more likely to occur.

like a few ago in venezuela, a referendum to choose if chavez stayed or not. polls were almost 50%-50% with the actual difference being less than the margin of error.

in the face of the carter center, the election ended uo in 58% to 40% in favor of chavez. and from the 1200 electoral computers used. 200 showed exactly the same number of votes for YES and NO. wtf??? 200 computers in which the same number of people voted, and in which the same number of people voted for yes, and the same number voted for no????

anyway, now its impossible to trace those votes, and the carter center and a lot of people say there is nothing to do, nothing to re-count.

there is no paper trace on it. very suspicious, that was venezuelas first electronic election, and it gives makes a lot of things to think about the use of electronic votes in elections that close and in which one side is judge and party at the same time.

 

[Slugman]

I love this line from the CBS story:

After a public outcry, Odell announced in May that he was getting out of politics.

YEAH RIGHT! So the fact that he is no longer in the public eye with his opinions means that he doesn't still have a bias? BS!

 

[dante]

COOL!! Bring on this e-voting, I'm confident that the liberals have better hackorz than conservatives...

 

[Tenchiro]

Great, all this country needs is another election scandal. Now no matter who gets elected the other side is going to cry foul and raise a big stink.

 

[Toshi]

you're probably correct about the hackers and their political leanings (is anarchist equivalent to liberal these days? ) but when the exploits seem to be intentionally coded by diebold itself there seems little chance that anyone not affiliated with diebold could throw the election...

 

[Atomic Dog]

 

[Changleen]

I don't understand how electronic voting isn't a bigger story, it's such a critical issue from so many angles. Just following the Diebold money trail - where their donations go, where their interests lie - gives some scary possible scenarios.

A good resource: http://eff.org/Activism/E-voting/

Trust me - my wife has worked for CNN in the USA and the UK, and big and small markets in the USA. I can't tell you the number of times she has called me to vent b/c she was not allowed to air/report on a story she wanted because management wouldn't let her.

It's N8's 'liberal' media bias swinging into effect again. Same as no one reporting **** about WTC7's collapse... The mainstream US media has more axes to grind than the props guy on Lord of the Rings...