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New Closed Source Voting Systems Malfunction
LowellPorter writes "Miami-Dade and Broward counties are having voting problems. After the 2000 election problems, new voting methods were installed including touch screen technology. Some times the problems were with workers not showing up, poor training, or mechanical problems. It doesn't look like they cleaned up the system there." Not all of the problems mentioned in the article are due to the new proprietary voting machines, but many of them are.
I suggest a new voting system for those counties/states where a significant percentage of the voting population seems unable to grasp the mechanics of voting: randomize the layout of politicians so that misvoting doesn't bias the final count. Then maybe we can at least focus on the education/UI issue, rather than getting bogged down in partisan bickering over and interpretation of election results.
One of the main problems with voting is that each individual voter doesn't know if their vote was properly counted, and has no recourse if the their vote was miscounted. One reason for this limitation is that the vote is anonymous, so you can't keep track of what happened to your vote.
My idea is to give each voter a secret unique identifier randomly generated at the poll. An online database would keep track of which identifier went with what vote. Then, anybody who had doubts about thier vote could look up to see if they were counted properly. If not, they could use thier receipt to petition for a revote. In the event that enough people complained within the deadline, the entire vote would be redone.
Why don't we use computers for all voting now? --Well in many cases we do, but you just don't know it.
Where I live, and in many places througout the US we have these ballots where you use your little marker and complete the arrow pointing to the candidate of your choise. Once you complete your voting you take your ballot and feed it into a machine I got news for you.. IT'S A COMPUTER.
One of the main reasons no one has trouble with this is that the average person is removed (even if ever so slightly) from the "computer". The system seems to work fine with no major issues and has for several years.
The we have the Technophobe Factor. As soon as you let people know they are actually dealing with a computer, all of a sudden it gets too complicated. Why? there is no real reason. It could be that the software in that voting thing is designed poorly, but even if it is really aweful, it probably isn't all that bad.
There is a segment of our soceity that will never want to work with computers, avoiding them at all costs, loosing all common sense when dealing with them believing they are too complicated to understand. What's worse is there is NOTHING we can do about it. Many of these people are older, but surprisingly they all aren't. It isn't just older people, it isn't just artsy people, it's more of a mind-set then any particular demographic. These people aren't dumb either... although the fringe of them who do try to use the internet usually end up starting their tech support call as: "I am the dumbest person". - You know the kind who have had the Internet for six years and still haven't learned anything - Not cuz they can't but because they won't.
It's hard for us techies to understand their motive. I don't, but I do know it exists and have learned there is nothing I can do about it.
At this moment, the best we can hope for is to make it so these people don't know they are using a computer. Using paper that you draw a line to complete an arrow, modding an old voting machine so those comfortable levers hit the right contacts for a computer to do it. Just don't let people know they are using a computer!
Hopefully in a few years we can slowly, incrementally get them to use computers -just not yet apparently
See the Pictures of the Flood of '08
I understand why we need anonymous voting. But sometimes I think we need a system that has everyones votes associated with them in some way. I always worry about the old addage that you don't have to own the people casting the votes, you just have to own the people that count the votes.
In any system, paper, black balls, or electronic, the problem always exists. If everyone drops a black ball into a box, who is to say some slight of hand wasn't used change the contents. Just cause I hit the button for 1, and maybe even see the count for who I voted for go up by 1, who is to say that it won't go back down as soon as I walk away from the screen.
A division of the house/roll call vote is the only time when everyone knows the count was fair.
What we need is to figure out a way where I can check to see if my vote was counted, and counted correctly. If we are using electronic voting, maybe an electronic reciept of some kind. I could check what I voted at any time, and I could check to make sure "their" copy of my ballot looks like my copy.
For this to work, maybe even allow for the database of all ballots be able to be downloaded. I could then get a bunch of my friends together with the copy I have. Do my count, see if that count equals the main count, then spot check my friends reciepts. You could then concievably check an entire town/state/country.
But haven't you bloody Americans learnt the KISS system - Keep It Simple Stupid.
This means no bloody machines, period !!! If Australia (& most of the OECD) can do hand counted paper ballots, then so can the US.
The only reason they use machine systems in the US is to cut costs, but the simple fact is they arn't as good - they invalidate more votes then hand counts do, they intimidate & confuse a good percentage of voters & they increase the odds of something fuking up (murphy's law)
Look at the mess, as well as the fucked up punch card machines you have counties with lever machines, other with optical machines, toggle switch machines, push button machines & also touch screen systems too. Then there are places like Oregon where all votes are of the mail in variety (which obviously discriminates against the homeless & disorginised). The simple fact is that huge numbers of people are intimidated with this complicated mess that's one of the reasons why most Americans don't vote & why the US has the lowest voter turnout in the OECD
Look at all the people that are intimidated by machines & even now still refuse to use Automatic Teller Machines, & there are plenty more people like that then just the illiterate, the elderly & immigrants that have poor 2nd language skills.
Its as if the bureaucracy in the US are on purposefully trying to discourage the masses from voting.
The only way to go is to Keep It Simple Stupid. Which means aiming at the lowest common denominator & designing a system that the stupidist simpleton can understand.
Which means 'X marks the spot' hand ballots.
That means a peice of paper with the candidates listed in a columne & another columne of boxes on the side with just one box next to each candidate.
Here are a couple of examples of 'KISS' paper ballots, the 1st one is an example of an Australian preferential ballot (any Americans who support 3rd parties should be demanding that the US system be made either preferential or proportional, otherwise no 3rd parties will ever make any long term headway), the 2nd ballot is an example of an ''X' marks the spot' ballot.
As far as counting goes the US should be doing what Australia does (& most of the rest of the developed world does similar) & hold the vote on a Saturday (I wonder how many blue collar workers in the US chose not to vote because of the incoveniance of voting on a Tuesday), using local schools as voting centres. Then leasing indoor stadiums & convention centres nationwide which are to be used as counting centres for the thousands of temp workers employed to count the votes. Each counter also has a Labour & conservative scrutineer looking over his/her shoulders.
It's extremely rare for results to not be known before the weekend is out (actually results mostly come out on the Saturday night, meaning people can go to election result parties & still be ok for work on Monday)
Sure its labour intensive, but as any UN election observer will tell you this is the best system if you want high turnouts with low rates of invalid votes & a result that's as accurate as can be, by Monday morning at the latest (actually in the vast majority of elections we know who's won by about 8pm the same night).
Now I bet someone will think 'oh but the US is much bigger than Australia', well my answer is no problem, the US having a nationwide hand paper ballot election would be no different than if Australia the UK, Germany the Netherlands & the Scandinavian countries all voted the same day, IE there's no reason to think it won't scale up fine.
Also all politicians must be removed from any decision making processes as far as the running of elections are concerned, etc.
Look at the way democratic afiliated local officials OKed the hand count iin Palm Beach & then the Republican Florida SoS blocked the hand count (& she was Bush's co-campaign manager, which makes it an even worse conflict of interest). That sort of thing is unheard of in Australia. Where an Independent Australian Electoral Commision administers federal elections & the various state electoral commisions administers state & local elections.
No politians are involved anywhere in the decision making process (except for calling the date of the election). As far as recounts, re-votes, referendums (in Australia politions can't amend the constitution, only the people can through referendums. Where a majority of the total votes & a majority in a majority of states, responds 'yes' to the amendment) & by-elections, etc are concerned only the electoral commision can make decisions regarding them. Although anyone can appeal to the commision's court, for a recount or re vote or something. Whether such appeals are successful is another matter.
First of all, the parent post wasn't saying anything to the effect of the fairness of the machines' tallying methods. Any system can be compromised by unscrupulous character, be it manual hand counting or rigged counting algorithms.
The point the parent's post was making is that the article was titled in such a way that the root cause of the problems experienced was that the voting software was closed source. Not only is that sensationalist, it's simply untrue. Any system can break if those expected to use it can't figure out how to do so.
So the story had nothing to do with the fairness of the machines, and little to do with technical problems within the software itself. It certainly made no case that any of it could have been solved with open source. So please, editors, stop trying to make these stories into something they're not.
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
Voters in North Florida also had new voting machines to use, but they didn't have any trouble. It's not the technology, it's the system.
Our intelligent designer has never created an animal that we couldn't improve by strapping a bomb to it.
Last I heard, OC was still using a Votematic type punchcard system (PollStar is the variant I think you are describing). Funny how you missed the concept that this is the exact same system used in Florida 2000. So I guess you also missed exactly how so called hanging chad happens.
Hanging Chad: The stylus punched through but didn't tear the last little bit off. This is usually counted as a vote.
Dimpled Chad: For some reason, the chads from previous voters did not fall through, clogging up the space with previous chads. The result is a clear indentation in the chad from the stylus but because the space for the stylus to pass through is full, all it can do is dimple the paper. This is also caused by glue or other stuff in the hole either accidentally or intentionally damaging the guide to change the results in a precinct. If you will recall the bilingual education initiatives of 1994, you will also recall the widespread use of glue in the holes in OC.
Pregnant Chad: The chad is bowed in but not imprinted with the force of the stylus. This is usually caused by the voter placing the stylus in the wrong hole and then pulling it out. The chad is a little bowed but is not otherwise disturbed.
A Dimpled Chad is probably a vote but a Pregnant Chad is probably not. However, determining if a particular chad is one or the other is a problem that would make Solomon nuts. Then of course, simply moving the ballots around is sufficient to dislodge some chads.
As for OC being a pargon of virtue when it comes to elections, look at what happened in the 46th Congressional District in 1996. Nativo Lopez has never gone to jail for rigging the election of a US Congressman. The disaster of 2000 can be directly traced to the decision by congress to ignore a clearly rigged election. That decision lead directly to the free for all that happened in Florida.
Orange County would be my personal favorite example of how not to run an election except that there are so many states and counties that are so much worse.
Nevermoind that the voting machines didn't work. Lets remember that Florida is the land of rigged elections, thanks to our little friend Katherine Harris (a bigwig Republican).
Personally, I think her ass should be in fucking federal prison for criminal tampering with the election process. Please follow me on this one. I have been picking this one up on the way all through the AP wires (I get access at work) and a good book by Michael Moore called Stupid White Men that I have been reading.
Shortly before the election even began, Katherine Harris decided to expunge the system of any felons that might be in the system. Those felons were (by vast majority in America on average) usually of African-American descent. Finding and removing all of these felons would have been a herculean task, so Katherine Harris and all of her election board members decided to go with a close match criteria to expedite the removal of felons in the system. The Election Commission also sent out memos to other states to give them lists of other possible felons that may have moved to Florida. Take a big stab on the only state that gave them a possible list.
TEXAS. That's right. Texas.
SO WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THIS? Thousands, and I mean thousands, of African-American voters that were NOT FELONS got turned away at the polls for matching up all of their kangaroo court requirements. THOUSANDS OF AFRICAN AMRERICANS, CITIZENS WHO EARNED THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE THE HARDEST WAY IN AMERICA COULD NOT VOTE. Imagine getting to the polls and getting turned away. Now imagine being black in America and getting turned away.
Here's another one: Entire districts were lost or counted as null or erroneous in Florida elections... or the locations were moved entirely. TAKE A STAB ON THE MAKEUP OF THESE DISTRICTS. If you guessed African-American, you'd be dead on the money. This is a PROVEN FACT. The election commission only messed with black districts.
DID KATHERINE HARRIS AND ALL OF HER ASSOCIATES GO TO JAIL? No. Actually she ran for US Senate. What a payback to get all of that campaign funds. I wonder where she got them.
In an interview Katherine Harris said that if Gore had been nice to her, he might have been president. After the fact, that ego alone tells me that all of the allegations are pretty much true. That statement alone wants me to see her go to prison even more.
So here is the question... with all of this crap going on in the system. Why is it that we don't vote? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER. THATS WHY. But many of us are out there for the reason to get our votes back. And we will. We will be watching the election commissions. You all should. Especially in America, where election commissions are appointed by the local bigwigs.
In Brazil (were I live) we have near 15% of illiterates in the population. They can vote (but they aren't obliged, as people older than 65yrs) We are using voting machines during 5 years or so... they are fast... the results of a presidential election are known about 6 hours after the election ends (don't forget that Brazil is almost the size of USA!) with 98% (or more) of the votes counted... and we have regions like Amazon, with very difficult access... the system is based in numbers... each candidate gets a number... when you type it in the machine appears a picture of the candidate... if it's really your candidate choice you confirm your vote, or else you can correct it... the system permits blank and null votes (it happens since voting is mandatory here, so some people null or blank they votes if they think that no candidate deserves his/hers vote)
So... no rocket science here... and already done... I remember that after the Bush election some represenatives of the company that make the voting machines here went to the USA to offer these machines...
By the way, before anybody ask... the votes are encrypted, the data is dumped in front of testimonies (from government and parties), the data line used are encripted too (they use VPN-like networks)... pretty secure...