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E-Voting Done Right - In Australia
tehanu writes "After all the furor over e-voting in America, Wired News has an article about e-voting done right in Australia. An important factor is that all of the software is open-source. The company responsible actually seems to have given consideration to the integrity of the democratic process, too - from the lead engineer: 'Why on earth should (voters) have to trust me -- someone with a vested interest in the project's success? A voter-verified audit trail is the only way to 'prove' the system's integrity to the vast majority of electors, who after all, own the democracy.' They also have scathing words for Diebold: 'The only possible motive I can see for disabling some of the security mechanisms and features in their system is to be able to rig elections. It is, at best, bad programming; at worst, the system has been designed to rig an election.' In general they are 'gob-smacked' by the whole situation with electronic voting machines in the US right now."
The people who run slashdot as well as the vast majority of the most vocal posters aren't very bright and are prone to hysteria. Hence the piling on, tin-foil hatters, mindless bashing etc. etc.
When was the last time slashdot posted a pro-American article? Seems like all they do is bash it at every opportunity, along with Microsoft, the RIAA, MPAA, etc.
OK, so name a few things that Americans have been doing that they should be proud of.
I don't understand the hub-ub about rigging elections. Just because the voting machines are electronic does not make them "easier" to cheat with in elections. Bush was able to do it in 2000 in a district controlled by democrats with punchcards. Given his limited intellect it would seem anyone could do it.
In 2000 the broadcast media claimed that Gore had won Florida nearly an hour before the polls closed in the panhandle area (in the Central, rather than Eastern, time zone.) Such a call can be expected to result in a lot of panhandle voters to have stayed home rather than vote.
Since the pahnandle area (unlike the urban areas of the peninsula) is heavily Republican, this no doubt selectively reduced Bush's vote count by a significant factor. NEARLY enough to swing the Florida, and thus the national, election to Gore.
But despite the media's cheers (and slips like a major anchor referring to Gore as "Our candidate"), they didn't QUITE manage to steal the Florida election.
And despite days of squirming - trying to exclude military absentee votes in violation of Federal law, counting every dimple on a ballot, etc., the Democrats STILL weren't able to get the numbers to come out in favor of Gore - either before the Supreme Court finally smacked them down and made them adhere to their own laws, or after months of after-the-election recounting.
Yet the media, and certain Democratic politicians, STILL bury these facts on back pages. And even today they attempt to spin the Media/Democrat axis' failed attempt to steal the election into a successful theft by the Republicans.
What GALL!
One thing I have consistently observed: Whenever someone in the public light is engaged in shady activity, he'll loudly accuse his opponents, or anyone who seems likely to call him on it, of EXACTLY THE SAME WRONGDOING that he himself engages in. This pattern looks like a preemptive strike, trying to give the valid expose the appearance of a schoolyard "He did it!" "No, HE did i!t" finger-pointing contest.
And this instance is a case in point: The media trying (apparently successfully) to cover up their own, very public, attempt to steal an election, with a smokescreen about Republicans allegedly being bigger thieves than they are.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
I agree wholeheartedly. Personally I think that the state should be ruled by a group of philosophers (in Plato's terminology), basically by scientists and other specialists (engineers, generals for Defence Ministry, etc.). The emphasis should be made on the consensus-based decision-making, but voting should still be an option. These rulers should be well-educated and raised to be honest. The selection should be done in an objective and transparent way. Unfortunately, the idea is completely unrealistic today. :(
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.