Slashdot Mirror
Absentee Ballots by Email?
tordia writes "Bruce Schneier has come out against a plan proposed by the Missouri Secretary of State, Matt Blunt. Blunt's proposal would allow "soldiers at remote duty stations or in combat areas cast their ballots with the help of e-mail." The plan arose when Jim Avery, a Missouri State Representative and National Guard soldier currently on active duty in Iraq, told Blunt that the fax machines required by the current Missouri absentee ballot law are rare, but most soldiers have access to computers.
A spokesman for the Secretary of State's office downplays the privacy and security considerations by saying, "If the soldier is uncomfortable with this process, he or she should not consider this option".
I agree with Bruce when he says "This is troubling"." Like many things, this is a wonderful idea in theory; it's just that darn implementation that things get...messy.
This will help cement Bush/Cheney in for '04!
Oh crap, did I just say that out loud?
President Viagra your car is waiting
I'm going to call this election early:
John Kerry: 80,000 out of 150,000 votes
George Bush: 160,000 out of 150,000 votes
We should do it like the good old days where it wasn't secret ballot and your employer or other individuals with hired goons and large clubs paid very special attention to how you casted your public vote ;).
P.S. Anonymity is necessary for freedom of thought and speech, that is why voting is anonymous and why you should support I2P, Freenet and Mute.
Bush: 1,356
Kerry: 1,498
Nader: 1
L337 D00d Linus Torvalds: 82,239,123
This would be great. We could replace all the e-voting machines with laptops that have outlook on them. If you are worried about security, don't vote.
A spokesman for the Secretary of State's office downplays the privacy and security considerations by saying, "If the soldier is uncomfortable with this process, he or she should not consider this option".
So I wonder what they'll say afterwards...
Spokesman: See, this plan worked perfectly - we got 100% turnout.
Soldier: 100%? How? I didn't use the email voting system.
Spokesman: Sure you did, we have your vote right here. You voted for Kevin Mitnick, and used the reply-to address "haX0r-v0t3r@133t.ru."
Soldier: What?
Spokesman: There you have it folks, as we said beforehand, if they didn't trust it, they wouldn't use it. 100% used it, so clearly 100% trust it. And if 100% of our fighting men and women trust a system they know nothing about, who are you to question it? It's a simple question really: Do you support our soldiers, or are you a terrorist? The terrorists don't want our soldiers to vote.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
Kudos - I don't think my landlord knows jack shit about cryptography... ;)
ABSURDITY, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
Here come 400,000 votes for "C0wb0y N3al!!!1"
World.People[linus torvalds].nationality!= "American" ...
sorry to ruin your fun
Dis counts on Vo tes SAV E up to 80% on Popular Vo tes! ***HOT SPECIALS*** We run a Canadian Votery that will save you thousands of dollars each year on the exact vot es you buy in the United States - Ge orge W. B ush, Joh n KerRy , Va lium, and Cialis and more - No doctor visits or hassles - Quick delivery to your front door
"Can't they just use an email -> fax gateway of some sort?"
And why am I getting 5000 messages per day from trojaned windows machines saying "soldier #99383 votes for Eddie Marin as president"?
Just double-click on the attachment and type your PGP passphrase to view the screensaver.
Have you seen the President's motorcade? Whether Kerry "owns" the SUVs or not, he can only personally drive one at a time, and if he's president he won't be driving any of them. Putting him in office will take those gas hogs off the street.
Hey, that's a good reason to vote for John Kerry! Save the environment, keep JK's SUVs in the garage! Vote him into office and he won't drive for four years!
Hmmm...I'm not sure that's really a good reason. Then again, it beats anything else I've come up with. (Except, of course, keeping the current nimrod from spending every last cent going after the "!@#$%# ragheads," as my Father-in-law calls them.)
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Hmm.. What's this vote for John Bush?
bananas like monkeys.