Computerized Voting Machines: Who is Counting Your Vote?
51:32
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3 years ago
As a result of Florida 2000, some people concluded that paper ballots simply couldn't be counted, even though businesses, banks, racetracks, lottery systems, and other entities in our society count and deal with paper all the time. Instead, paperless computerized voting systems (Direct Recording Electronic or DREs) were touted as the solution to "the Florida problem”.
Election officials were told that DREs in the long run would be cheaper than alternative voting systems. They were told that DREs had been extensively tested and that the certification process guaranteed that the machines were reliable and secure. They were also told that DREs would allow people with disabilities to vote independently. No mention was made of the significant costs of local testing and of secure storage of DREs; no mention was made of the inadequacy of the software testing and certification processes or of the obstacles to creating bug-free software. And no mention was made of the existence of or potential for much less expensive systems for people with disabilities, to say nothing of the large number of shortcomings of the current crop of DREs for people with disabilities.
We will examine some of the technical issues relating to DREs and to Internet voting, describe some alternative systems currently available, review some horror stories, and consider legislative efforts to repair the damage caused by the purchase of voting machines that have major security, accessibility, and reliability problems. If there is time, we’ll also discuss briefly the likelihood of major meltdowns in the upcoming November election from newly deployed statewide databases of registered voters.As a result of Florida 2000, some people concluded that paper ballots simply couldn't be counted, even though businesses, banks, racetracks,...all »As a result of Florida 2000, some people concluded that paper ballots simply couldn't be counted, even though businesses, banks, racetracks, lottery systems, and other entities in our society count and deal with paper all the time. Instead, paperless computerized voting systems (Direct Recording Electronic or DREs) were touted as the solution to "the Florida problem”.
Election officials were told that DREs in the long run would be cheaper than alternative voting systems. They were told that DREs had been extensively tested and that the certification process guaranteed that the machines were reliable and secure. They were also told that DREs would allow people with disabilities to vote independently. No mention was made of the significant costs of local testing and of secure storage of DREs; no mention was made of the inadequacy of the software testing and certification processes or of the obstacles to creating bug-free software. And no mention was made of the existence of or potential for much less expensive systems for people with disabilities, to say nothing of the large number of shortcomings of the current crop of DREs for people with disabilities.
We will examine some of the technical issues relating to DREs and to Internet voting, describe some alternative systems currently available, review some horror stories, and consider legislative efforts to repair the damage caused by the purchase of voting machines that have major security, accessibility, and reliability problems. If there is time, we’ll also discuss briefly the likelihood of major meltdowns in the upcoming November election from newly deployed statewide databases of registered voters.«
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