Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

E-Voting Glitch: 19,000 Voters, 144,000 Votes

Posted by timothy on from the that's-some-glitch dept.

nick_davison writes "The Indianapolis Star is reporting the latest case of 'interesting' E-voting results. Tuesday's Boone County election, using MicroVote software returned 144,000 votes from 19,000 registered voters. After much panicking and tracking down the bug, the actual number of votes turned out as 5,352. With yet another mistake, does anyone still trust closed-source electronic voting?"

20 of 601 comments (clear)

  1. MicroVote Sucks by khalua · · Score: 2, Funny

    Have you tried MacroVote?

    --


    "There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people." --Muhammad Ali
    1. Re:MicroVote Sucks by Bohnanza · · Score: 2, Funny
      It sounds like Macrovote is what it actually does.

      There no longer seems to be any reason to vote. Since our corporate overlords now control the elections, and control the candidates anyway, we should simply let them choose directly.

      --

      -----

      Sorry, I'm only a 1336 h4x0r.

    2. Re:MicroVote Sucks by Negatyfus · · Score: 2, Funny

      I can't believe they didn't use SlackVote. Everybody knows MicroVote is evil!

    3. Re:MicroVote Sucks by Geek+of+Tech · · Score: 3, Funny
      Now, electronic voting has something in common with slashdot polls!

      And I quote...

      # Don't complain about lack of options. You've got to pick a few when you do multiple choice. Those are the breaks.
      # Feel free to suggest poll ideas if you're feeling creative. I'd strongly suggest reading the past polls first.
      # This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane.

      Good to see the legal system is getting some ideas from the fine folks of slashdot!

      --
      Stop the Slashdot effect! Don't read the articles!
  2. Let's just hope... by Bobulusman · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...That when they 'fixed' the problem, they did it right. Since they probably didn't want the local county's IT guy to look at the source and fix the problem, there's no guarantee they got it right this time, either.

    --
    Cogito ergo sum in Slashdot.
  3. Blackadder by Walterk · · Score: 4, Funny
    Vincent Hanna: One voter; 16,472 votes. A slight anomaly...?

    Edmund: Not really, Mr. Hanna -- you see, Baldrick may look like a monkey who's been put in a suit and then strategically shaved, but he is a brilliant politician. The number of votes I cast is simply a reflection of how firmly I believe in his policies.


    True politics
    --

    "If anyone needs me, I'm in the angry dome."
  4. Reminds me of Office Space... by donnyspi · · Score: 4, Funny

    "I probably just put a decimal point in the wrong spot. I always forget some mundane detail..." lol

  5. So ... by cablepokerface · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is this how Bush was elected?

  6. Actually, their software *IS* open source by femto · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here it is:

    #include <stdlib.h>

    int main()
    {
    printf( "%i\n", rand() );

    return(0);
    }

    1. Re:Actually, their software *IS* open source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      The many eyes see now that they forgot to initialize the random generator with srand(). This was shallow.

  7. Don't Worry, Be Happy by Detritus · · Score: 4, Funny

    The new Indianapolis Mayor, Richard Daley Jr., said there is nothing to be concerned about. Indiana Governor Martha Daley called to congratulate him on his victory.

    --
    Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
  8. Re:Does anyone trust closed source anything? by azzy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Millions of eyes makes a bug fucking scary!!!

  9. Found the bug by AVee · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Amount_paid variable was used where it should have been Vote_Count...

  10. Anybody notice the number 144000 by Dusabre · · Score: 2, Funny

    The number 144000 has a great significance in many religions/beliefs.

    Google on 144000

    Personally I think that Judgement Day is nigh and that the AntiChrist will use an evoting machine to gain control of the world.

    Or perhaps not.

  11. Re:What is wrong with an "X"?? by JediTrainer · · Score: 4, Funny

    When you're done voting, you give your ballot with sleeve to the attendant, and you watch (you have to watch, they make you stay) as it goes into something resembling a giant laser printer

    Maybe it was just me, but I thought it looked more like a gigantic shredder.

    --

    You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
  12. Re:What is wrong with an "X"?? by AbbyNormal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sir I take particular offense to your statement

    b) a very short attention span.

    I am very well capable of keeping my attention fixated on a point that is well worth my....Hey! Another article on Microsoft doing something bad!

    --
    Sig it.
  13. Re:What is wrong with an "X"?? by Tim+C · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ah, but in the US, do they really all show up to vote? For a national election??

    He said votes, not voters...

    --
    It's official. Most of you are morons.
  14. Re:Accounting by clickety6 · · Score: 2, Funny

    So an IT director and a number of flunkies have rewritten the results of an election.

    That's disgusting! Everybody knows that rewriting the results of an election is a job for the courts!

    --
    ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
  15. Looking forward... by jmv · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...to seeing Bush re-elected with a 2 billion vote majority.

    --
    Opus: the Swiss army knife of audio codec
  16. Re:Accounting by symbolic · · Score: 2, Funny

    How do the good people of Boone County know that the new answer is correct?

    Maybe they took a vote.