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States Throw Out Electronic Voting Machines
Davide Marney passes along an AP story about the thousands of voting machines gathering dust in warehouses across the country after states such as California, Ohio, and Florida have banned their use. Many of these machines cost $3.5K to $5K each. Local election boards are struggling to find ways to recover any of the cost of the machines, or even to recycle them. The picture in Ohio is the most confusing, as multiple court cases limit the state's options and result in a situation in which the discredited machines will nevertheless be used in the presidential election coming up in November. The state's new (Democratic) attorney general has just issued a rule banning the practice of election workers taking the machines home with them the night before elections.
Well, thank God for a Democratic governor in Ohio. The last one was gleefully happy that his state had been able to steal the election for Bush in 2004. I have seen so many reports that describe the theft, it's despicable. Back to a technology we can trust: paper.
They pushed for loosy goosy standards and even pushed for losing the printer in the name of budget (ever seen a republican politician that really wanted a balanced budget without a law forcing it? Not since I was a child in the 50's has that been the case). Now, we are talking about throwing billions away. Sadly, this is probably the best option. I do not think that we can trust these machines. There is enough evidence coming out of Ohio to show that polls were messed with. Even now, a grand jury is investigating Karl Rove and his actions on the 2000 and 2004 elections. One top ranking state republican is coming out pointing fingers at Rove because apparently Rove( and some indications that both Cheney and Bush participated) threatened this man's wife that one of the 2 were going to take a major fall.
It is time to restore integrity to D.C. The last honest president was probably Jimmy Carter. Nixon, reagan, and Clinton should have done jail time. W. and his cronies should still stand trial and do life at Leavenworth.