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US Election Year, Still No Voting Reform

An anonymous reader writes "A year ago, we discussed this on Slashdot: E-Voting Reform In an Out Year?. The point was that due to the hoard of problems with electronic (and mechanical) voting, it is best to approach reform in an out year, when it is not on everyone's mind yet too late to do anything about it. Well, we failed, didn't we? Another election year is upon us, and our vote is less secure, less reliable, and less meaningful than ever. To reference the last article, we still have no open source voting, no end-to-end auditable voting systems and no open source governance. So don't complain if this election is stolen. You forgot to fix the system."

302 comments

  1. In other words, by davidwr · · Score: 2

    ... we have an election where close races are open to challenges based on the inability to have a reliable recount.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:In other words, by Hatta · · Score: 0

      It doesn't matter anyway. Both parties are equally corrupt and serve the same .01% of the population. In order for voting to matter, you need a real choice to vote on.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    2. Re:In other words, by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Informative

      ... we have an election where close races are open to challenges based on the inability to have a reliable recount.

      Not only that, but polling is down to such a near exact science someone *cough* Florida in 2000 *cough* could finagle staffing and access to voting centers which prevent a large population of registered voters passing through to cast their votes, thus throttling the representation of their precinct and overall vote count. i.e. Select some very slow or officious people to staff it, make sure there are no where near enough polling booths, transportation or parking is highly problematic and when the doors shut at 8 PM you've stifled the vote, because you knew ahead of time this area would go against your party.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    3. Re:In other words, by PhilHibbs · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is all your fault. I voted for Kodos.

    4. Re:In other words, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Less traditional options have always existed. Nobody ever votes for any of them.

    5. Re:In other words, by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      You may, we don't. The feds do NOT have much say over voting, that is left to the individual states. Here in Illinois there's a paper trail, probably because of our long history of election fraud. AFAIK Florida still uses punch cards.

      Any election reform is up to your state's legislators, not the feds.

    6. Re:In other words, by Hatta · · Score: 1

      The existence of other options doesn't matter if the system is mathematically biased in favor of the two biggest. Both Duverger's Law and the Spoiler Effect make third parties practically unworkable. Further, the median voter theorem ensures that the two choices available will be as similar as possible.

      All these mathematical constraints of our voting system make any sort of real choice impossible. Remember, elections are only a tool for measuring the will of the people, which is the only just government. A badly designed tool will give incorrect results. The solution isn't to work even harder with the broken tool, it's to fix the damn tool so it measures accurately.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    7. Re:In other words, by icebike · · Score: 1

      Actually, polling is becoming increasingly unreliable. The press had universally decided Walker would lose his Wisconsin recall. They were all wrong.
      And if they were all wrong about that they are asking themselves what else they were wrong about.

      People have taken to lying on polls, mostly because they are sick of them.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    8. Re:In other words, by compro01 · · Score: 1

      AFAIK Florida still uses punch cards.

      And practice creative incompetence with their seeming inability to deploy machines that can reliably punch holes in paper.

      --
      upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
    9. Re:In other words, by timeOday · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The press had universally decided Walker would lose his Wisconsin recall. They were all wrong.

      I just googled "walker recall polling" and you are wrong. Here are the first 5 results (after the first one which is about fundraising):

      Dem poll: Walker recall battle is a dead heat

      Wisconsin Recall Polls: Scott Walker Leads, But The Margin Varies

      Scott Walker Recall: Dem's Internal Poll Shows Dead Heat, Growing ...

      Walker's lead in Wisconsin recall election tightens in new poll - ABC ...

      Late Polls Find Walker Is Still Favored - NYTimes.com

    10. Re:In other words, by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Not only that, but polling is down to such a near exact science someone *cough* Florida in 2000 *cough* could finagle staffing and access to voting centers which prevent a large population of registered voters passing through to cast their votes, thus throttling the representation of their precinct and overall vote count. i.e. Select some very slow or officious people to staff it, make sure there are no where near enough polling booths, transportation or parking is highly problematic and when the doors shut at 8 PM you've stifled the vote, because you knew ahead of time this area would go against your party.

      Why go to all that trouble?

      Just do what they did last time, and post a bunch of New Black Panther thugs outside the polling doors, brandishing clubs and bats, and intimidating voters that way.

      Cheap...effective, and they won't even get a nod by the justice dept.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    11. Re:In other words, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The other half of the equation is: We won with 51% of the vote. Therefore everyone is 100% behind what we campaigned on. This all or nothing stuff is harsh indeed.

    12. Re:In other words, by Obfuscant · · Score: 1
      The "machines" whose inability you denounce were human beings with a pointy tool. The machines don't poke the holes, they simply hold the paper and align it with the candidate names. The humans poke the holes.

      Humans which, by the way, adamantly refused to follow the instructions on how to vote. I recall one elderly gentleman standing up and stating loudly that he'd been "voting for fifty years and didn't need to read no instructions to tell [him] how to vote." Apparently, yes, he did, because he was one of the people who couldn't poke a hole in a piece of paper that had been pre-scored to make it easy.

    13. Re:In other words, by serbanp · · Score: 1

      One should distinguish between pre-election polling and the exit polls.

      Exit polls have been consistently proven to be very accurate, except the rare situations where they weren't (read: when the particular election results have been tampered with, e.g. Ohio 2004).

  2. Open source? by barv · · Score: 2

    Is there a good package that
    1) protects privacy
    2) is online
    3) allows voter to confirm or change their vote
    4) allows anybody to count the votes
    5) have I missed anything?

    1. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Whenever I hear people toting the line that open source is equivalent to security, I immediately imagine Peter Gutmann unzipping his pants.

      (Search for 'sound wave')

    2. Re:Open source? by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 2

      6) Checks if a voter can be mapped to at most one vote.

      Off course, that bites privacy very much. Some techniques are just no golden hammer for every problem. Doing things on-line is a terrible way to organize an election.

      --
      Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    3. Re:Open source? by jmorris42 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      > 2) is online

      No, that is just stupid. And so is mail in btw. Anything other than voting in person with a photo ID on election day with a paper ballot where the count is validated right after the polls close while poll watchers from all interested parties are there to witness is asking for fraud.

      No, don't jump in with a reply until you STOP and think for a minute. Then you will realize I'm right. The problems with voting boil down to these:

      1. Ensure that registered voters have unrestricted access to their polling place.

      2. That inelligible people do not vote.

      3. Ensure people only vote in the races they are elligible to vote in.

      4. Ensure that the vote is secret and immune to outside influence.

      5. Ensure that every vote is counted and only counted once.

      Violate my formula in any way and one of those rules is impossible to ensure and thus the election by definition is unfair to some extent. Allowing a small percentage of absentee voting, contested ballots, etc. are perhaps acceptable compromises but must be understood as a compromise to prevent certain parties from trying to extrapolate those exceptions into bad general rules like universal mail in ballots, online voting, etc.

      --
      Democrat delenda est
    4. Re:Open source? by dead_user · · Score: 1

      Number 3 could be problematic. If a vote could be verified, then it can also be coerced. Or bought. Or extorted. They can already tell too much just by watching which elections you vote in and extrapolating your likelihood of voting in other elections based on past preferences.

    5. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      In Oz, we have an electoral roll. Every citizen is supposed to be registered. Once. Use that roll as a source for handing out encrypted identity numbers with passwords.

      Encrypting identity hides the identity, but allows votes to be counted by a publicly available voters/voted file.

    6. Re:Open source? by BStroms · · Score: 1

      Number 3 could be problematic. If a vote could be verified, then it can also be coerced. Or bought. Or extorted.

      They can already tell too much just by watching which elections you vote in and extrapolating your likelihood of voting in other elections based on past preferences.

      I strongly agree with this, even though I know they'll do their best to keep anyone but the actual voter from being able to confirm. For the same reasons people fear electronic voting with no paper trail is too is a security flaw that will lead to fraud, I feel that any system that allows confirmation will eventually lead to some people's votes being discovered by those who shouldn't have access to them.

      And let's face it, any election that can have the result changed by fraud without it immediately being obvious that it was crooked was very close to begin with. I'm not so worried that someone who should have lost 46% to 49% wins the race as I am that the secret ballot is compromised. The secret nature of the ballot is one of the primary aspects of democracy that I feel must be protected at all costs. So I am strongly against ever implementing anything of the sort.

    7. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      for:
      1) "Voters need unrestricted access". Good point. We need publicly available computers. Here in Oz most municipal libraries have them.
      2) & 3) & 4) & 5) see response above to "6) Checks if a voter can be mapped to at most one vote."

      but to reiterate and expand:

      In Oz, use the existing roll of voters to issue usernames/passwords. (I don't know what equivalent you have in US/UK etc, but if it's not secure, then why have you got it/not fixed it?) Voters then use that ac/pw to "log into" the vote computer, which keeps secure "vote accounts" much like an online banking account. The "vote accounts computer" database with encrypted names is available read only to anybody who wants to count & verify votes.

      If a voter decides to change a vote prior to the "count", then that would be possible.

      I think that answers 2,3,4,5.

      The greatest weakness I see is the possibility of someone correlating a username with a voter by external (real world) factors. That could be combatted by changing usernames on a regular or time encrypted basis.

    8. Re:Open source? by lgw · · Score: 1

      I agree completely. What would help elections is computer assisted voting. Have a tuch-screen voting booth with a nice GUI that perfectly prints a marked paper ballot, which the voter can then inspect before dropping it into the box. Those paper ballots are all that matters to the count, but we can help make it easier to mark the ballot correctly.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    9. Re:Open source? by Quila · · Score: 1

      #1 isn't going to make you friends with Republicans, who prefer that people who don't have the means to get to the polls don't. Can't have the poor riff-raff affecting the election.

      #2 will be stoped by the Department of Justice if it's run by a Democrat political hack like Holder. The reasoning is that it disproportionally affects blacks, so it's racist and unconstitutional. The fact that a disproportionate number of blacks are ineligible convicted felons in the first place is irrelevant to them.

      #3 Will be stopped by Democrats, period. The illegal vote, and the vote of those who can't be bothered to apply for a free ID (mainly swept off street corners and bussed to the polls by the likes of ACORN), mainly swings their way.

      #5 is tough. Does this count ballots suddenly "found" when the Democrat is behind in the count? They tried this in Wisconsin, but a smart Republican operative delayed reporting the votes cast by one heavily Republican city. This meant the Democrats underestimated how many votes would have to be "found." They managed to "find" quite a few in the recount, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit without being so obvious they'd get caught.

    10. Re:Open source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know about any open source solutions, but Estonia has a nice system based around public key encryption that satisfies all of your requirements.

    11. Re:Open source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ineligible people voting is a vastly exaggerated problem. I don't consider it fair to place it on the same list as 1, 4, and 5 here; and what's more important by far is getting a good system for making and distributing those photo IDs. Until we have a good system (Sorry, the ones we have now suck - among other things, depending on where you work, good fucking luck getting even a lunch break to EAT, let alone run out and deal with the bureaucrats you need to for a Federally Recognized Photo ID), you're going to rightfully get charges of disenfranchisement thrown at you over 2-3.

      Oh, and, electronic (Not internet) voting is fine - as long as there's a 'paper ballot' that also gets generated by the machine for later verification as needed. Which can work quite well for speedy recounts - if it's machine-produced and marked in a way people can at least understand their vote, it can be machine-processed during the recount, and thus, we could even have machine recounts as a standard procedure for extra accuracy with a hand recount as backup! Man, I wish we had that.

    12. Re:Open source? by fritsd · · Score: 1
      I don't think that's what OP means. For example, last election at the polling station I was allowed to vote in two of the three elections: local and EP, but not national. I could see them verify this, because next to my name on their bit of paper there was a cross through the national ballot column. So I was allowed to put a ballot paper in only two of the three boxes present. The vote itself was still secret of course, as it should be.

      They can already tell too much just by watching which elections you vote in and extrapolating your likelihood of voting in other elections based on past preferences.

      By seeing me vote for local and European elections, they can extrapolate that I'll probably do that again in 4 years? I don't see what the problem with that is. My presence near the polling station would probably already give them the suspicion that I was trying to vote, and might try to do it again in the future :-).

      BTW I'll share here again the cartoon that the people from www.wijvertrouwenstemcomputersniet.nl have made, read it, it's very easy to understand (I see they've translated it this year) and totally convincing:
      cartoon

      --
      To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
    13. Re:Open source? by fritsd · · Score: 1

      6. Ensure that the average citizen can see and understand how the process works and how easy or difficult it is to steal an election. This one seems to be the one Slashdotters don't understand with their large computer-oriented brains :-)

      --
      To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
    14. Re:Open source? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Encrypting identity hides the identity, but allows votes to be counted by a publicly available voters/voted file.

      It also allows the creation of large numbers of fake votes with random ids. Or one person who is registered ten times in ten different precints to vote ten times without fear of detection. If you can't map the id back to the person, you don't know if the person exists or is unique.

      If your're trusting the government to do all the back mapping and security, you might as well trust them to count the votes, too.

    15. Re:Open source? by gd2shoe · · Score: 1

      Encrypting identity hides the identity, but allows votes to be counted by a publicly available voters/voted file.

      (1) No, it doesn't. It might make it harder, but not very... (at least not unless you hand each voter a huge/unmanageable encryption key.)

      (2) Much more important, you overlook the biggest reason for anonymity. Voters desire protection from corrupt elements within the government. Who is it that's protecting the encryption? Yeah, I thought so. This just lets the fox watch the hen house. (And yes, this is a fundamental problem with voting; it's very difficult to address.)

      --
      I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
    16. Re:Open source? by jmorris42 · · Score: 1

      Explain how ANY voting method that doesn't require voting in person where poll watchers can see and also voting inside a booth or other device to obscure the actual voting selection from observation can possibly be compatible with my #4 above.

      That means no Internet voting method can work. So forget about technological fixes to ensure voting isn't tampered with in transit, that it is counted correctly, etc. Can't possibly be immune to problems at the keyboard end that do not involve tech. Won't stop the nursing home staff from 'voting' the residents.

      --
      Democrat delenda est
    17. Re:Open source? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      The "vote accounts computer" database with encrypted names is available read only to anybody who wants to count & verify votes.

      I've already pointed this out, but maybe you missed it. Your system allows the trivial creation of vast numbers of fake votes using simple random numbers for IDs. How does someone with read-only access to an encrypted list of votes check to make sure that those people actually exist, or that fifty of the votes are not from the same person? Answer: HE CANNOT.

      If I've rigged the vote so the count comes out in favor of my candidate, do you really think I haven't done it by creating thousands of fake votes with fake "encrypted" names and populating the list you see with them? You're trusting a list when it is created by the people you don't trust, because it's encrypted. Encrypted means it must be good. Yumm.

      That could be combatted by changing usernames on a regular or time encrypted basis.

      You said the names were encrypted. Now you say they might need to be encrypted twice to make them really secret.

      What's more likely to happen is Joe Candidate sends his thugs out to your house demanding your password and username so they can see you voted the right way. Or, as I said, simply create thousands of fake voters for you to waste your time trying to validate.

    18. Re:Open source? by rsborg · · Score: 1

      1. Ensure that registered voters have unrestricted access to their polling place.

      You have already missed an important step - ensuring that nefarious groups aren't preventing eligible voters from being allowed to register [1], and that they aren't caged [2], or summarily invalidated from being registered [3] (the main problem with this is that people are prevented from getting IDs in the first place by virtue of being homeless, etc).

      Let's not forget the time honored tradition of just jailing your political opponents or threatening their death if they stand for election is yet another way for the formalities of democracy to be observed while gaming the end-result. You can have completely "clean" elections but still have a thoroughly corrupt output.

      [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/us/restrictions-on-voter-registration-in-florida-have-groups-opting-out.html
      [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caging_(voter_suppression)
      [3] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57467195-503544/stringent-voter-id-law-in-pa-could-prevent-750000-from-voting/

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    19. Re:Open source? by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      > 2) is online

      No, that is just stupid. And so is mail in btw.

      While I agree about online voting, we've had 100% vote by mail in Oregon for a decade and it works really well.

      You're calling out something as stupid that is being used and works better than the old ballots... how stupid is that?

      And we still have a paper ballot, and we can count slowly and with as much oversight as people want, and recount if needed.

    20. Re:Open source? by ghettoimp · · Score: 1

      Indeed.

      Whatever folks think is gained from open source here is a lie. Why? Like it or not, you have no way to verify the open source code is what the machine is running.

      Using computers for voting is just a disaster, open source or not.

      Scantron-style forms can be processed very quickly, can't be subverted en masse, and can be verified by actual people. Using anything else just reeks of corruption.

    21. Re:Open source? by barvennon · · Score: 1

      Thank you for the criticism. I would like to see direct government where citizens can reverse political decisions with a trustworthy online voting system.

      So lets think this through.

      "It also allows the creation of large numbers of fake votes with random ids. Or one person who is registered ten times in ten different precincts to vote ten times without fear of detection."

      Suppose there are 100,000 on the electoral roll for a particular federal district. Those 100,000 names are available, and addresses and citizenship can be confirmed.

      So there should be 100,000 encrypted names on the votes computer's read only output. Some will have voted. .Some won't. But both can be counted. Anything over (or under) 100,000 names would set alarm bells going. So we can't have fake voters, or "lost" voters.

      There should be no random IDs. (A voter has to have either a birth certificate or an immigration/citizenship certificate) And the encryption system should only recognizes one person nationwide (at least I think it does in Oz). If a voter moves, then he would tell his account that he has moved, and the account would move his name on the open roll to the new precinct. His vote choices would then be drawn from the new precinct and his votes will apply to the new precinct.

      And if somebody evil did manage to (say) fraudulently change a voter's vote, that voter (whose vote was changed) would know when he looked at the record that somebody had fraudulently changed his vote. Because the person who supposedly cast the vote can check his vote. And a timewise record of his changing vote (ie at time of counting) would be available to verify the vote. Because the voting account, like a bank account, keeps a timewise record of the voter's votes.

      Also since each download of the encrypted names and votes is double encrypted with the date, it would prove difficult to track a name because the voter moved precinct.

      The secret is to keep lots of data, so any fraudulent changes can be backtracked and the problem rectified.

      I think I have covered most of the possibilities. Perhaps we should ask the NSA for a system? Isn't that what they do?

    22. Re:Open source? by barvennon · · Score: 1

      " Your system allows the trivial creation of vast numbers of fake votes using simple random numbers for IDs."

      How do you put those fake IDs into the voter database? You can download the vote file. Not upload it.

      Want to upload it surreptitiously? The encryption ensures that random numbers can't be inserted. The vote counter has a decryption key that assures that a random number generator did not make up the voter ID. Those asymmetrical RSA encryption algorithms are tricky to fool.

      Maybe you didn't see the implied assumption, which was that the current system was not corrupted by having fake names? Given a list of real voters and addresses, it is a trivial procedure to produce encrypted voter IDs that are not "fake". You are discussing a practical problem that insults paper ballots. I understand "dead" voters are also a problem. However those problems are solved for paper ballots will indicate a solution for this system.

      "What's more likely to happen is Joe Candidate sends his thugs out to your house demanding your password and username so they can see you voted the right way. Or, as I said, simply create thousands of fake voters for you to waste your time trying to validate."

      I actually do not think that violence is a practical suggestion. Those thugs would more likely end up getting shot.

      I can see vote buying as a problem. Some people might sell their ID/password for $cash. Well that is also a problem we have now with paper voting. Politicians seem to compete to see who can give away the most taxpayer money for health, town halls etc to purchase votes.

      What I would actually like to see a system like this do is manage direct democracy. Like the Swiss and Californians and a few others have. Not just to use every four years or whenever to elect a president or whatever.

      Thank you for your criticism. For the obvious reasons.

    23. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      I guess you do not do your banking online

    24. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      speak for yourself. I will compile and run an open source program on the downloaded data, and know if somebody has done a fiddle.

      We use computers for banking. So why does that work?

    25. Re:Open source? by cryptizard · · Score: 1

      Makes it easy to coerce people with this though. Just have them show you their ID and you can verify that they voted the way you wanted them to vote. One of the good things about the system we have now is, if it works, only you know how exactly you voted. In addition to the obvious organized bullying situation, I would bet there are a lot of cases where a particularly domineering husband/father would demand to see their family's IDs so they could make sure they voted the "right" way.

    26. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      The present system has lots of faults, like multiple votes on the same name at different booths. Or dead people voting.

      As for family coercion. Sadly it likely would happen. The cure for that is education. (as a matter of fact I get bullied all the time by my 11 yo grandson).

    27. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      But you pushed "Ron Paul 2012" and the ticket spit back "Ron Paul 2012" and internally it decided that you're one of the lucky 11% that gets to vote for Obama instead. I download the data and run the open source verifier and it says yep all good.

    28. Re:Open source? by dead_user · · Score: 1

      I vote far more often than once every 4 years. Our local government opens the polls as often as 4 times a year. By watching which elections I choose to vote in, they can interpolate what issues I care about more than other. At any rate, I am not too terribly concerned for two reasons. First, the politicians still can't tell which way I personally voted, although the poll operators can, as spot vote counts are currently possible on Diebold machines. I can't personally speak to other machines as I haven't seen them. The second is that since I'm an old fart I vote in every possible poll. I obviously care about everything. :)

      What I am far more concerned about is an employer asking its employees under threat of termination to "self-verify" that they had voted in the direction the company preferred. Replace employer with Police, Spouse, Religious group, Financial institution, Organized Crime Family, etc you prefer and hopefully you can see how this could be an issue.

      I'm not saying that pushing a magic button that supposedly cuts a bit of paper from another piece of paper that gets shoved into a box I cannot see gives me warm fuzzies with confidence my vote has truly been counted, but I have worked in a place where I know the employees were spot-monitored for their voting records. It made me nervous every time I voted in a way that went against the will of the administration. I should never have been made to have felt pressured like that. I can't tell you how many times I had a sign in my yard for a candidate when I was voting for another.

      I still don't know the answer to the problem. After all is said and done, you HAVE to take the word of whoever is counting the votes as well as in the system used, be it paper ballots, electronic voting, or pebbles in a jar.

    29. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      Even if I can't be bothered to go through the program line by line to confirm no nasties, I expect someone would. Like the rsa encryption scandal where the CIA (or other persons unknown) planted a bomb in PGP.

      Btw I am not talking voting machines with buttons, but online voting accounts, a bit like a bank account.

    30. Re:Open source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anything other than voting in person with a photo ID

      The problem with photo ID's is that they cost money, and requiring one to vote amounts to a poll tax. Even if the physical ID's were free, the costs associated with getting to and from the centers where you can obtain one would also be equivalent to a poll tax.

    31. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      But what guarantees that the source you get is the source code of the compiled object running on someone else's server?

    32. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      Not sure of your point. If its not the same source then it would show a different result when i compiled and ran it on my computer, wouldn't it? (Then I would know that I had a different source, and look for the reason).

      I am not setting up a policing system, just a way of verifiably voting ananymously.

    33. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      No, it wouldn't. Where are you going to get the data set? In a centralized voting system, the data comes from thousands of terminals. If those terminals are state-controlled, you can't examine the actual binary software running on them, and don't know if they're mucking with the data. If they're home PCs, you can't collect data off every terminal individually, and have to rely on a central server to give you the consolidated report to verify--which it may be mucking with.

      Votes aren't supposed to have an identity tied to them, either, which makes the system difficult in any implementation, vulnerable to all sorts of fraud--and also vetos the suggestion that we let individuals generate and register an RSA key and digitally sign their votes. An individual could bring a card loaded with their own RSA key generated at home, which is anonymous, and then later verify theirs and only theirs out of the data set, which creates risk; of course in that case the verification is in the key rather than the system, and thus whether it's open source or shifty backroom magic doesn't really matter. A separate, signed file and printed paper record could be placed on the card (for removal later, so you can guarantee the information isn't used during verification) that records your actual vote. The paper record is verifiable by the end user, the signed file is verifiable by computers but its accuracy can't be verified immediately (all the tools at the voting station are of unknown integrity, unless your cell phone has NFR and a verified app to check the file).

      In either case, open source doesn't matter. Either you can't trace and can't verify the vote because the system can invisibly muck with data before it gives you the data set to verify; or you can trace and the system can't muck with data.

    34. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      I think you might have missed one wrinkle that I had assumed. I assumed that an individual could (a) confirm that his own vote had not been tampered with & (b) that he could confirm that there were (say) 100,000 entitled to vote and that there were only 100,000 who were counted (as yes, no,indifferent).

      Now a purist might complain that he could not check every vote for authenticity, however (I can't be bothered with the math, but) if a percentage of voters do check their own votes, they would notice that they had been changed, and raise the alarm.

      I apologize for failing to clarify, and hope this answers your concerns.

    35. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      I am on a slow connection, and submit is under the preview button (please fix that, Slashdot) so did not edit out ambiguities in the last response. (below) so read that response before and in conjunction with this response.

      If a percentage of voters (around 5% say) check their vote account for an authorized transactions, and if (say) 1% of votes had been changed by evil people, then there would be a calculated (maybe 50%) chance that the fiddle would be discovered.

      Remember:
      1) the voter file (with encrypted voters) is being downloaded and saved by multiple voters and could be checked for authenticity and vote counting by anybody at any time now and in the future.
      2). The only way a voter gets an account is the one time in his life when he shows up to register. At that time an extra voters name goes on the roll of registered voters, and an extra encrypted account entry goes onto the votes file. The weak point here is that someone watching could note that the two events happened simultaneously.
      3) Any voter could look at any downloaded votes file and confirm that his vote was not tampered with.

      So really, the problem for the bad people is;
      How to change a vote on the public vote file when (1) everybody can see the change, (2) everybody can count the votes.(3) if there was a change, everybody can be made aware and the matter rectified.

      BTW I would make it a capital offence to knowingly corrupt the vote file.

    36. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      The problem is you can't confirm your vote hasn't been tampered with unless there's identifying information downstream. Votes are supposed to leave the voting house with nobody's name attached: your votes are truly anonymous, cast on a paper without your Citizen ID or even your casual name thereupon. If you're keeping identifying information downstream, then you can satisfy all this cryptographically, and there's no need for access to the source code because math.

    37. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      The way I envisaged it was:

      There is identifying information on the votes file, (your encrypted username) and the votes file is what is used to count the votes. Only you can verify that it is your vote, and you can see it is not changed when final count was taken. In fact, you could even see if it was changed before and changed back after the vote. Because the votes file contains a historical record of all your voting.

      The open source program suite does the vote counting and encryption and decryption. They also control the generation of the votes file.

    38. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      When you rely on open source, you rely on source code. But when you rely on a machine controlled by someone else, that someone else may run binaries not compiled from the source code they gave you. Debian sends their own packages for i.e. Firefox, but they patch a lot of stuff; they tell you about the one-line changes made here or there, though, but you'd never know if they just said, "Here is firefox.deb".

      You can analyze a binary compiled module. It's harder than source code, but it can be done. You can't analyze the contents of a hardware machine, though. If someone at Diebold put voting-software-with-diebold.patch.deb on the voting machines, but gave you voting-software.tar.gz and voting-software.deb sans Diebold patch, you'd never know What are you going to do? Commandeer the machines randomly mid-vote-day?

    39. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      We are at cross purposes. I am not talking about voting machines. "voting day" does not exist. What does exist in this scheme is a publicly available, at all times,
      1). A file of eligible (named) voters.
      2). A file of votes with names encrypted.
      3) open source software that will count the votes, and allow anybody to verify that their votes were properly reported on the vote file at any point in time.

      I do not envisage voting for representatives, but on the decisions that representatives make. When you vote for a representative, you must compromise. No single representative would always vote the way I wanted. And even that requires them sticking to their promises. (haha).

      If the outcome is so close (depending on say 0.1% of the votes cast) then perhaps the vote is never finalized. Perhaps consensus should be sought on a different question?

      There is no machinery, just your own computer, compiler, password, and a mainframe somewhere that holds the master vote and voter files, and open source files.

      Theoretically that master computer could be interfered with, but any change to the votes file would risk discovery the next time the owner of that account looked over his past votes record. (and remember, he could have downloaded the record at any time in the intervening period, so any fiddle would be immediately obvious.)

      Any miscount would be immediately spotted, because every voter could (and quite a few probably would) run the votes file through his/her votes counter program.

      Do you do online banking? Envisage a similar system.

    40. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Ah, that's your problem then. You seek to count the votes properly, but counting the votes stopped being an issue when we eliminated paper ballots: votes are always counted properly.

      Paper ballots are recorded by the voting individual; but electronic ballots are recorded by machine. If you want to mess with electronic votes, you alter the vote when it's cast instead of storing a proper vote and doing odd flipping.

      Banking is different than voting. Votes don't have to come from anywhere; but money does. All bank transactions are double entry: money leaves one place and enters another. When you walk into a bank and deposit $100, this system finds its weakness: $100 shows up in your account from the ether. Of course, we know that a given branch produced $10,000 of cash-from-ether on a given day, and started with an amount of cash in it, and so we can count the cash boxes at each desk and figure out if a transaction magicked up the wrong amount of cash (not which, but we can determine there is an error). Checks are easier to trace--in fact banks routinely mis-account checks, mine even gave me $50 extra once and a week later during a weekly audit they caught the check and its matching transaction and took $50 from me. Cash is double and triple counted by hand, then counted by machine, then counted by hand again; checks are just deposited, and later electronically read, then audited (by hand and software comparison).

      When votes come in, we can kind of say that 10,000 people came to the polling station. We can't say that 3000 votes for Bush and 7000 votes for Kerry came in; if we could, why the hell would we poll people? So these votes appear out of nowhere, with no verification. So we can say your vote was cast nice and proper, and log a vote for the other guy in the database nice and proper instead. Verification as a whole is impossible; verification by individuals of "their vote" is prone to ridiculous claims and buyer's remorse ("my vote was changed!" more like you want to change your vote...), hence why you need proof of vote cast (i.e. a paper print-out of your vote) or your complaints are invalid.

      It's a big problem, really. Reliably counting votes is hard. Though you're right, keeping a verification chain for the voter makes it risky to flip votes; yet, again, it also requires storing identifying information, which is considered a bad thing.

    41. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      You raise valid issues. "buyers remorse". "storing identifying information". There are other issues. But wtf, what we have is far less perfect. And there are precautions, and mitigating procedures that could be developed.

      Anything which diminishes our representatives' power (and graft) is good for us, and resisted like the plague by pollies. Direct polling appears to be an important step in that direction.

    42. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      The statement that anything that X is good is half a fallacy. The Politician's Soliloquy is: Something must be done; This is something; Therefor, this must be done. In this case, you suggest something be done because we want to diminish our rep's powers, but a few holes exist.

      The first is the obvious: identifying information. An effort like this could lead to a storage of identifying information--it would lead to a situation where you couldn't tell from the outside. Of course voting machines and identification and sign-in sheets lead to this kind of thing already: you sign in on the voting sheet, we roughly know the five minute span you were in the building and we know which votes were cast during that time since the votes can be timestamped (chad punch ballots don't have the exact time written on them!).

      The second is less obvious: printed paper trail means someone has physical, snoopable record of their vote. When I leave the voting booth, I want to leave my vote behind; it exists in my head, it's cast, and you have no evidence against me. That's why votes are secret. To solidify that secret makes it discoverable; you cannot discover my vote in a ballot box among thousands of other votes. Such a paper trail is required to avoid false positives on vote changing (from buyer's remorse, conspiracy yahoos who create trouble intentionally, and plain idiots).

      Every step forward costs money and creates a system that becomes somebody's pet. Removing bad ideas is ridiculously hard; we have to move conservatively because people are too stupid to rip out things that just don't work. Really we should fire these people and throw their pet projects in the trash, I know.

    43. Re:Open source? by barv · · Score: 1

      "you cannot discover my vote in a ballot box among thousands of other votes."

      The existing system is even worse than you credit. Those voting slips no doubt contain DNA.

      And neither is the proposed system as bad as you fear. I would imagine that after complaints and investigations, the people suffering with "voter remorse" would be known. Or the actual problem would have been found and the error would have been fixed. Like solutions exist for all your posited issues.

      I am against the so called "right to privacy". Where is it written and in whose constitution or Bill Of Rights?

      When the Greeks invented democracy, there was no privacy. Sure, in small town USA there might have been a problem. But in a nation where gun ownership is a right, I would not offer good insurance rates to an enforcer.

    44. Re:Open source? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      The "Right to Privacy" is more a government thing, Amendment IV of the Constitution of the United States. The Government isn't allowed to perform search or seizure without due cause as acknowledged by judiciary approved warrant. Wire tapping laws were added later, of course; but these days it's fashionable to claim that since information moves on wires we should be allowed to record it. Nixon and Watergate all because of some recorded phone conversations, but in modern times the government wants to record everything that's not their business.

      Privacy is a bigger factor in a voting system. People lie. Imagine how many negros may have voted for Bush while claiming to be powerful Obama supporters because all their negro friends are powerful Obama supporters. Imagine how many gays vote Republican (yes, they do) while all other gays are busy viciously demonizing Republicans because gay rights are the only thing that matters. Imagine how many folks in Georgia only voted for Obama or Al Gore because they knew their neighbors wouldn't find out and string 'em up. All these people vote the way they want, and lie to their friends about how they voted; it's impossible to pressure someone into voting, emotionally or physically. That's what a secret ballot is: a right to vote your mind without repercussions beyond voting some moron into power. In Alaska they made a cat mayor.

  3. "no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by John+Hasler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We have one. It's called the "paper ballot".

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    1. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by alen · · Score: 0

      tell that to the kiddies who are too lazy to walk a few blocks to vote in person and who think paper is only for dinosaurs

    2. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, but without electronic voting corporations aren't allowed to vote. They are people too.

    3. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      He can't, because those "kiddies" are strawmen who exist solely in your imagination.

    4. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by alen · · Score: 1

      no, the reason for an untraceble secret ballot was due to all the corruption in the late 1800's. Boss Tweed and all or watch Gangs of New York. People were told how to vote and the gang bosses went to the polls to make sure they voted the right way

      having an electronic ballot where its possible to trace who cast their vote and how risks bringing back all the problems from that time

      but then again kids always thought they know better than their parents or grandparents. but then today's generation of OMG i'll miss out on a WoW raid, i don't have enough time to vote is the same as the kids of almost 12 years ago when Bush was elected. all the kiddies hated him until it interfered with their bong and alcohol time

    5. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by OhPlz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If they're too lazy to walk a few blocks then they're way too lazy to actually be informed about the issues and where the candidates stand on them. If you make it easy enough that even those folks will vote, then you've turned the elections into popularity contests. We could only guess at what criteria they'd be basing those votes on.

      In my state, we have paper sheets where you fill in the bubble. When you're done filling them in, you feed the ballot to the scanner and the paper copy is retained. We have quick results thanks to the scanners, but the actual ballots still exist and can be counted. We don't need anything more than that.

    6. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Again, those "kids" don't exist. You've never met one. You're grossly distorting the facts to make things look simpler than they are because you yourself are too lazy to examine a complex issue. You're about to prove me right.

    7. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by alen · · Score: 1

      i've lived in the USA for over 30 years. came here shortly after Reagan took office. when have these issue things actually influenced an election? it's all charisma and oratory ability

      Reagan had it, carter and mondale no
      Dukakis looked like a troll or a gnome
      Clinton was way better looking and charismatic than Bush 1
      Bush 2 was annoying but not as annoying as Al Bore who looked like your annoying overprotective mother lecturing you on what is best for you
      McCain went through torture, but that lip looks like hes chewing tobacco all the time. and he's old and kind of hunched. Palin was MILF hot but not enough to beat Oblama who had the looks and speaking ability like Steve Jobs

    8. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by HornWumpus · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      The D party has a long history of renting buses so their voters can get to the polls (note the plural).

      Some of those buses tour the whole city, 'vote early and often' as they say in Chicago.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    9. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by DarkTempes · · Score: 2

      My state is a solid republican/red state.
      All of my state's electoral votes go to the majority winner.
      If a candidate wins just eleven other states my state doesn't even matter.

      Explain to me why I should vote for anything that's not local.

    10. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I've met them. They do exist. I've lived with them before. I offer to carpool them to the polls, and, exactly as GP noted, too much WoW.

      I've voted in every election since I was old enough to. After November, I'll no longer be in the 18-29 demographic.

      The GP isn't doing a strawman. He's doing the age-old observation that the new generation is somehow less virtuous than the previous one.

    11. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Fwipp · · Score: 2

      Because you're already there voting for your local candidates, and it may be worthwhile to show the political-number crunchers that your precinct is slightly more blue/red than they suspected.

    12. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They wouldn't go with you because they were ignorant and apathetic about voting, not because they had a raid. They didn't want to vote in the first place, on paper or otherwise. So no, they don't even resemble the "kiddies" that alen invented.

    13. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Kenja · · Score: 1

      They send my ballet to my house and then come back later to pick it up. Not sure how much lazier I could get and still be able to type/write my name.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    14. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Damn, was going to quote plato:
      "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

      But to get the quote I googled and ended up here: http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/01/misbehaving-children-in-ancient-times/

      and it seems that plato likely didn't say that... oh well.

    15. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Ha ha! That is a good one. Seems to me that about 12 years ago there was a hotly contested race down south somewhere that revolved entirely around paper ballots.

    16. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Gerzel · · Score: 1

      While you're at it also tell the poor and those without reliable transportation (or any transportation) who are often unable to get to the polling place or get the nessasary paperwork for registration/proof of id (16 bucks is a lot of money for some people).

      Oh if you have trouble finding these people you can check the areas with lower-paying jobs where the work is long hours that often doesn't allow time off to go vote, or forces the individual to choose between voting and say getting home to their children, and with pay that barely manages to cover basic living expenses let alone the cost of a car.

    17. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that term does not mean what you think it means. End-to-end audit means that after the voter casts the ballot, the voter can then verify that the individual's vote is counted as cast. Throwing a paper ballot into a box does not allow for this.

    18. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if Alen has met any, but I have, during my time in college. Nothing makes me fear more for the future of my country.

    19. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by OhPlz · · Score: 1

      i've lived in the USA for over 30 years. came here shortly after Reagan took office. when have these issue things actually influenced an election? it's all charisma and oratory ability

      I'm not sure if that trickles down to the other offices as much. While I'm sure a lot of folks still just check one party or the other, I think there's a lot that choose senators and reps and their state and local officials based on issues. Scott Brown is one such case. Martha Coakley was expected to have an easy win since she was the easy choice for that district. She didn't win.

      All I'm suggesting is that e-voting would make the popularity contest even worse. Those that feel strongly about voting don't mind the short trip to their local polling station. I'd be worried if we put it online and let those who truly don't care cast a vote.

    20. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by jbeaupre · · Score: 1

      and they audited the crap out of it. And the audit turned up all sorts of weird stuff.

      What's done with audit results afterwards is a different matter.

      --
      The world is made by those who show up for the job.
    21. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by lgw · · Score: 1

      If it's important to you, you'll get to the polling place (and even the most ruthlessly exploitive place I've worked was very pro- "take the time to go and vote" - there's a lot of legal protection there, and it must be enforced or otherwsie that company would never have toed the line).

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    22. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Lithdren · · Score: 1

      For the life of me, I cannot understand why elections are held on a single day.

      In my mind, an election should take place over 2 or 3 days. All of these days are considered federal holidays, and by law everyone gets atleast one of them off. If you choose to not vote at that point, thats your problem, but this would avoid the hassel many people feel with needing to vote before/after work if they're already working long hours.

      There's no reason to have results ready at midnight the day of, other than it makes good TV. I dont own a TV anymore..for good reason.

    23. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      We have one. It's called the "paper ballot".

      Yeah here's the only problem, you got these idiots down there who seem to think that "Voter ID" is racist or something, you know like most countries in the world who require it when you vote. Canada requires is, European countries require it, Japan requires it. Hell even the tinpot dictatorships that give 99.95% for the guy winning require it, but that's to make sure they can shoot anyone who doesn't show up or votes for the other guy.

      Until you get voter ID as requirement, though you're still going to have problems.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    24. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by bws111 · · Score: 1

      But they never agreed on what the audit meant, which makes such an audit useless. Even after the whole thing was done and an independent party did another audit they had to apply various scenarios to figure out what the outcome was.

    25. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm a kid. You know what I worry about more?

      The 'Boss Tweed' who just walks into the voting machine warehouse, hacks the machines, and makes the machines turn out all votes the way they do. Which we can still have today in a lot of places. I mean, Kathy Nickolaus - That's what is happening TODAY.

      I hate all these old people. They're stuck in the memories of how things were 20, 40, 50 years ago. They don't look at the present day. They just know about the problems THEY overcome, and after they're fixed, they're fixed. And when new problems pop up - even if it's from these mysterious, illogical, uncomprehensible kids, it'll take a real adult like you to fix them. The kids couldn't have done anything that you can't unwind. They can't be right if it means you're wrong.

      After all, otherwise, why the hell are you even still here?

    26. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Explain to me why I should vote for anything that's not local.

      Because if candidate A wins your state it forces B to win eleven others. If candidate B wins your state, he's got fewer other states to win.

      This is a big country. One vote in 100,000,000 (a good turnout) is very small, but one vote here, one vote there, pretty soon someone wins all the electoral votes in your state and forces the other guy to win in other states if he's going to be the overall winner.

      And because if you don't vote, you have no right to whine about who won. You can't win if you don't play the game.

    27. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by UnderCoverPenguin · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure why only a single day, but I remember from my high school US History and Government clases that at the time "second Tuesday in November" was standardized, it was a good time of the year for farmers to take off a day or three to go visit the town or city where voting was taking place. Tuesday because it allowed traveling on Monday for those people who could not make it to the polls on time when traveling on the same day - and not require them to travel on a Sunday. Second Tuesday because that would always be after All Saints Day (Novemeber 1)

      As for "work week day" vs "weekend day", from my observations (and of many people I know), the working poor are very likely to be required to work at least one, and often both, of Saturday and Sunday. I don't think it would matter which day(s) were election days, national holiday or not, there will be a lot of people who have to work that day and have trouble getting time to go to the polls.

      Add to that the fact that the number of polling places is being cut back - due to budget constraints (nevermind that many polling places are active public shools or otherwise available free of rent - and many pollworkers are unpaid volunteers) - so the waiting times are longer and some people have to leave before they get to vote.

      --
      Don't try to out wierd me, three-eyes. I get stranger things than you, free with my breakfast cereal. --Zaphod Beeblebr
    28. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by afidel · · Score: 1

      Voter fraud is such a red herring. Outside of a few instances of organized fraud like in Chicago it's statistical noise and much, much less of an issue than voter disenfranchisement.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    29. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by jmorris42 · · Score: 1

      A few additional things to think about.

      1. If the polling places are open longer than most people work there isn't an excuse to skip. Here in Louisiana they open at 6am and stay open until 8pm. If you want to vote you can unless you are out of town. Absentee ballots are a solution for that if you don't allow too many of them and don't let people do it all the time. Remember that absentee ballots create problems in ballot secrecy, ballot security etc. A few to help people who actually need them is probably an acceptable tradeoff though.

      2. If you don't do it all on one day securing ballots is pretty much impossible, as is independent poll watchers.

      3. Most poll workers are paid. Granted it isn't much but most are paid. Too many polling places also makes it harder to get observers into all of them.

      --
      Democrat delenda est
    30. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by jmorris42 · · Score: 2

      Not really. Because only one scenario mattered. If you counted ballots under the laws of Florida that were in effect on election day, Bush won. Nobody has ever produced a different result within those rules. I know it is an article of faith that the Supreme Court stole the election and Bush II was an usurper among some folk, but I can't help it if that is a total myth. Some myths need to be busted.

      --
      Democrat delenda est
    31. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AFAIK, most states will waive the fees for a state ID card if you're broke. Although I'd question how it is that you can get .gov benefits if you don't have some form of ID stating who you are.

      As to time off to vote, most states have laws that compel employers to grant paid time off to vote. Typically all you have to do is inform your boss the day before that you're voting.

    32. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by joocemann · · Score: 1

      It wasn't the paper ballots that threw the election you're talking about, it was the supreme court ruling that the paper ballots would not be counted. Mind you, the paper ballots, as they were being counted, were responsible for the shift toward Gore that was the ACTUAL votes of the people that were not reflected appropriately.

      If your memory doesn't serve you well, the recount persisted for quite a while and the favor continued to trend that paper ballots actually showed Gore as a winner --- and when the difference was reduced to around 500, the state voting commissioner (who led Bush Jr's campaign in Florida in a blatant conflict of interest... can't recall her name, but she should be shoved off a bridge) halted the count and called upon the supreme court (staffed by Bush Sr. appointees) to decide who won the election.

      You tell me where the paper ballot did wrong in that election, and I'll tell you that corruption did wrong and the paper was honest. (Let's rule out those that were too stupid to know which hole they punched and felt deceived later)

    33. Re:"no end-to-end auditable voting systems" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They send my ballet to my house and then come back later to pick it up. Not sure how much lazier I could get and still be able to type/write my name.

      Walking on your tip-toes is hard work.

  4. TFS also left out: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No one worthwhile to vote for, and congress will screw up everything anyway, so even if you DID fix the voting, nothing would change.

    If voting actually worked, they'd probably outlaw it.

    1. Re:TFS also left out: by interkin3tic · · Score: 2

      So you're an optimistic one. Also given to excessive verbiage.

    2. Re:TFS also left out: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >No one worthwhile to vote for

      You don't think it's worthwhile to vote for Gary Johnson?

    3. Re:TFS also left out: by shentino · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not to mention that the article blatantly exaggerates how much power we the people actually have in the first place.

      The ohio election hack pretty much proves that we have no voice unless it is approved by the elite. It proves that the powers that be aren't afraid to lie, cheat, steal their way into office.

      In order for the american public to change anything they have to unite against it. That implies that
      a) they care (apathy)
      b) they haven't already given up hope (learned helplessness)
      c) they aren't already busy scrambling to survive.

      a is entirely our own fault. b, not so much because who wants to get beat up for zero payoff?. c is blatant manipulation of circumstances to make it too expensive to resist. Keep everyone too poor to both protest and feed their families at the same time./

    4. Re:TFS also left out: by Chelloveck · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Funny how you never see anyone who has a credible chance of winning running on a platform of election reform...

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    5. Re:TFS also left out: by poetmatt · · Score: 1

      What, you've never heard of having to vote between a giant douche (Obama) and a Turd Sandwich (Mitt)?

      Our entire voting system is flawed anyway, and creates this situation.

    6. Re:TFS also left out: by Jens+Egon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Also given to excessive verbiage.

      doesn't have a subject.

      fixed!

    7. Re:TFS also left out: by JonahsDad · · Score: 1

      Also given to excessive verbiage.

      Your sentence doesn't have a subject.

      Sure it does. It's just implied. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject_(grammar)

    8. Re:TFS also left out: by Grizzley9 · · Score: 1

      Not to mention that the article blatantly exaggerates how much power we the people actually have in the first place.

      The ohio election hack pretty much proves that we have no voice unless it is approved by the elite. It proves that the powers that be aren't afraid to lie, cheat, steal their way into office.

      In order for the american public to change anything they have to unite against it. That implies that a) they care (apathy) b) they haven't already given up hope (learned helplessness) c) they aren't already busy scrambling to survive.

      a is entirely our own fault. b, not so much because who wants to get beat up for zero payoff?. c is blatant manipulation of circumstances to make it too expensive to resist. Keep everyone too poor to both protest and feed their families at the same time./

      Many Ron Paulites will attest to that fact. Just do a simple search on how the party leaders bent or broke rules to make sure his followers weren't allowed a voice. While I'm not one of them, the examples I saw on the news and online were appalling (no pun).

  5. Of Really? by morari · · Score: 1, Insightful

    So don't complain if this election is stolen. You forgot to fix the system.

    The system doesn't want to be fixed. It is, of course, setup that way on purpose. Sometimes it is better to just start over than it is to try to fix something broken beyond repair. If voting actually had the power to change anything, it would most certainly be illegal.

    --
    "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    1. Re:Of Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The system doesn't want to be fixed. It is, of course, setup that way on purpose. Sometimes it is better to just start over than it is to try to fix something broken beyond repair.

      Check out the links in the main article. There is a start-over, called collaborative governance.

      If voting actually had the power to change anything, it would most certainly be illegal.

      Check the main page of that same site, and read the Transition section. They don't need permission from the status quo, but they also aren't breaking any laws.

  6. That's so cute. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You think voting is anything other than a public circlejerk to keep people busy.

    Ahh to be young and stupid again.

    1. Re:That's so cute. by KhabaLox · · Score: 2

      "[S]ince Americans require the illusion of self-government, we have elections."

      -Matt Taibbi

      --
      Ceci n'est pas un sig.
    2. Re:That's so cute. by kiwimate · · Score: 1

      You think voting is anything other than a public circlejerk to keep people busy.

      Ahh to be young and stupid again.

      In many ways that's far better than old and cynical/jaded/paranoid, as is the wont of many a Slashdotter. Just take a look at the monumentally idiotic discussions overwhelming almost any article these days on these pages.

      And on another note, is "anonymous submitter" another way to describe "anonymous coward who works for Slashdot and wants to generate page views by posting a sheer flamebait-war-initiating item"? Apparently so.

    3. Re:That's so cute. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what you think is cute? No wonder your wife looks like goatse.

    4. Re:That's so cute. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stupidity is sufficiently demonstrated in the act of denouncing a claim by means of insult. So if you are denying you are young, that implies you are old and stupid.

  7. E-Voting Reform In an Out Year? by John+Hasler · · Score: 3, Interesting

    E-voting cannot be transparent and therefor cannot be acceptable.

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    1. Re:E-Voting Reform In an Out Year? by ackthpt · · Score: 2

      E-voting cannot be transparent and therefor cannot be acceptable.

      Let's consider something else, which is supposed to be secure and is still in some kind of dark ages at the present - the credit card.

      Mine was recently charged for a videogame download, likely the details obtained when I gave them over the phone for a hotel reservation, the download was sent to an email address not registered with my card. Meanwhile, friends who have had their cars broken into find there are a few gas stations which still don't ask about pin numbers or zip codes when a card is swiped, let alone have cameras on site, so thieves call all their friends who flashmob the filling station and top off their tanks before throwing the card away.

      With billions of dollars of charges, lost to thievery on cards, why are we expecting voting could be secure? Clearly sloppiness to a very high dollar cost isn't important, why should you expect extreme care for voting?

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:E-Voting Reform In an Out Year? by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      In 2006 I lost my cards at the gym - don't go there any more either. Next morning, on the way to work I get a call from my bank - 'Are you in las Vegas by any chance?' No, I am not, but my cards are, and had just bought something at a gas station for a few bucks, triggering an alert. Yup, my card was at a casino trying to load up on chips for some fun. I was assured they would not be loading up on my dime. I got two other calls in rapid succession from other banks and such, same story.

      If my card was snagged and used locally, they might get away with it for a bit, but go too far and at least one of my banks etc would be asking me where I was.

      While gas stations have somewhat different fraud rules, they don't want fraud any more than you. It is inefficient, bad for business, and always costs them something.

      Using similar methods for e-voting sounds appealing; dispute resolution, notificaiton of out of pattern activity, etc, but this could be solved by giving you a receipt for your vote, scanning it with your phone or inputting the key into the website, and protesting anything that looks wrong.

      And after all this, the system could STILL be gamed by counting imaginary results despite all the confirmations. Only by tramping down to the polls a few days later and running your wrinkled, faded, written-on receipt could you participate in a recount of any meaning. Better than nothing, but OCR paper ballots can do this now.

      E-voting is not interesting to me yet. It serves someone else's purposes, not mine.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    3. Re:E-Voting Reform In an Out Year? by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      > why should you expect extreme care for voting?

      Your money is important only to you, and you have many choices as to how you manage it.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    4. Re:E-Voting Reform In an Out Year? by John+Hasler · · Score: 2

      Using similar methods for e-voting sounds appealing; dispute resolution, notificaiton of out of pattern activity, etc, but this could be solved by giving you a receipt for your vote, scanning it with your phone or inputting the key into the website, and protesting anything that looks wrong.

      This would destroy the secrecy of the ballot. It is essential that no one be able to ascertain how you voted, even with your cooperation. The paper ballot does this in a simple, transparent manner.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    5. Re:E-Voting Reform In an Out Year? by afidel · · Score: 1

      Yep, that was the conclusion Cuyahoga County reached after the disaster we had with the electronic voting machines in 2004. We now use simple scantron paper ballots which everyone can understand and which provide a nice verifiable paper trail that can be easily recounted by both different machines and by hand if necessary.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  8. Different types of voting systems by Krishnoid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm more interested in the results that a different kind of voting system would produce, such as how the ability to rank candidates on a ballot would affect campaign strategy and the kinds of people we'd elect.

    1. Re:Different types of voting systems by sorak · · Score: 1

      I wish I had the mod points for you. I just wish that we had a system that didn't center around false dichotomies. One where the voter has the freedom to vote for the guy he really wants without wasting his vote.

    2. Re:Different types of voting systems by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      One where the voter has the freedom to vote for the guy he really wants without wasting his vote.

      Every time I hear this, I think how this is the quintessential example of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

      If there were enough people who wanted to vote for X that he would win if they actually did, then when they decide not to vote for him because their vote for him would be wasted, it really is being wasted.

      If there aren't enough people who want to vote for X to start with, then it doesn't matter if someone who wants to vote for him does so or not, he won't be elected. You call that "wasting a vote", I'd call that "losing an election".

      Either way, you'll never know unless the people who want X actually vote for X and stop complaining about how they think they're wasting their vote, because the truth is they are wasting it if they don't.

    3. Re:Different types of voting systems by sorak · · Score: 1

      So why don't you vote for yourself every election? By your logic, the only question you should be asking yourself is "is there anybody I'd rather see in office". There is a difference between voting systems. Our current system was not designed to work well with third party candidates. Others are.

    4. Re:Different types of voting systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Posting anon as not to cancel moderation.

      For all but anywhere from three to eleven states, depending on which pundit you ask; you are "wasting your vote" no matter who you vote for.

      An ultra-conservative "birther" living in Vermont hasn't got a chance of his vote for Romney influencing the election any more than a true blue "it's all Bush's fault" Democrat will have any hope of their vote for Obama to mean anything if said person lives in Utah.

      At best, both of these people may help shave a percentage point or two off the win for the other guy.

      Now, suppose all the Birthers in Vermont and Bush blamers in Utah voted for a third party candidate? Perhaps the Constitution party for the former, and the Green party for the latter. Or even if they all voted for themselves or just wrote in, "None of the Above" as their candidate of choice?

      What's going to make for a bigger headline? That the projected winner by about 79% of the popular vote only received 77%? Or that 8% of votes cast in these states were for third party candidates instead of the expected 1-2%?

      It's unlikely that this idea will have much traction in states such as Ohio, Wisconsin, or Florida which are expected to not only very extremely close, but determine the winner in November. But if your state has already been cast as solidly Red or Blue, then voting for anyone other than Obama or Romney will have a much bigger impact that a vote for either of them. That is anything but "throwing your vote away."

    5. Re:Different types of voting systems by sorak · · Score: 1

      You make a convincing argument. I can agree with you in the case of non-swing states.

  9. "We"? by J'raxis · · Score: 4, Informative

    "We"? Who is this "we"? Here in New Hampshire, they passed a paper trail law in 1994 and we've not had any of these problems.

    1. Re:"We"? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Informative

      And in my NH town, we just use a simple paper ballot with checkboxes. There are about 800 voters in a typical election and about ten volunteers spend an hour tallying them. I think the town buys a few sandwiches from the convenience store in appreciation. At the end, they use a website to report the results to the Secretary of State's office (used to be a phone call) and lock the ballots in a wooden chest in case of a recount or audit.

      Somebody explain how this system doesn't scale to any appropriate-sized town/district/ward...

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    2. Re:"We"? by dkleinsc · · Score: 2

      There's a lot of reasons for that, and one of them is that your Secretary of State, Bill Gardner, is strongly non-partisan. He sees his job as first and foremost ensuring a free and fair election in New Hampshire, and because of that he's kept his job even as governors, executive councillors, and legislatures have come and gone. That means, among other things, that his salary isn't tied to who wins, which eliminates any incentive he'd have to cheat.

      Other states aren't so lucky - in many states, if the "wrong" party wins the election, the Secretary of State is out of a job, whereas manipulating an election result has little if any consequence. Not fixing the voting process makes fixing the vote much easier, so it's great for the Katherine Harris's of the world.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    3. Re:"We"? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1, Interesting

      They keep finding more boxes of paper ballots until the selected candidate wins.

      Also how do you know the box starts empty?

      UN has this figured out. Clear boxes and finger dyes are required to prevent most of the blatant fraud. Of course one party will not allow this (hint: it's the same one that won't allow for ID checks).

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    4. Re:"We"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Somebody explain how this system doesn't scale to any appropriate-sized town/district/ward...

      Simple. The whole idea of "ethics" gets a little blurry in more populated areas. What you would see is a whole lot of Acorn workers "volunteering" to count ballots. Unlike your small town, they would also convince the city/county to provide better compensation than a few sandwiches.

    5. Re:"We"? by sommere · · Score: 1

      MN has paper ballots and also has automatic recounts of random precincts within each county regardless of the vote margin. We have had two major state wide recounts in recent years and both have been successful - they have been transparent and fully auditable.

      http://www.ceimn.org/ceimn-state-recount-laws-searchable-database/states/Minnesota

      There are other issues about whether certain people are eligible to vote, and how to handle that on election day and what to do if it is later determined that someone who shouldn't have voted did vote. (Answer: not much you can do, since their vote is anonymous... BUT there are VERY VERY few cases where this happens and is discovered.)

    6. Re:"We"? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2

      They keep finding more boxes of paper ballots until the selected candidate wins.

      Also how do you know the box starts empty?

      The whole process is open to independent observers (I've done this). When the box is locked, there's a seal placed upon it with the vote statistics. This data is available to independent observers.

      I like your question, though - it makes me wonder if what people are really after is a system that can be trusted with no additional diligence on their part. I'll posit that the need for diligence in such a system is a feature, not a weakness.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    7. Re:"We"? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      What you would see is a whole lot of Acorn workers "volunteering" to count ballots

      I'm pretty sure poll workers have to be registered voters in the district. If those people happened to be Acorn workers, I guess they would have a right to volunteer. If everybody else was apathetic, they'd have an advantage.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  10. horde, not hoard by GungaDan · · Score: 1

    Damned homophones!

    --
    Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
    1. Re:horde, not hoard by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      Actually neither word works in this context. Look them up.

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
    2. Re:horde, not hoard by GungaDan · · Score: 1

      Horde - a large group, multitude, or number. Seems to work just fine, thanks.

      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/horde

      --
      Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
    3. Re:horde, not hoard by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      I think to use 'horde' the units of the horde need to be animate at least, preferably human. Problems hardly qualify. 'Slew' or 'fucktonne' might have been better choices!

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
    4. Re:horde, not hoard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damned homophones!

      You mean there are phones just for gays? Actually, I think I saw one of those with about 87 piercings and in a black and pink cover. Matched the owner pretty well.

  11. Here in Redneckville by CajunArson · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I live in what the Europeans like to call the backwater redneck racist Christian "fly-over" part of America. I guess we are so stupid here that our voting system isn't worthy of being audited. We are so stupid that the state actually has a balanced budget.. what a bunch of inbred hicks we are.

        All we have here are simple to fill out scantron ballots that are anonymous, simple to scan in, and trivially easy to recount in an offline manner if needed. We get our election results within hours of the polls closing on election day. Oh and as for software, the software in the system is so simple that Windows vs. Linux doesn't even enter into the equation because you don't need either.

          Frankly, even if the voting software is "open source" on some website, you have zero guarantees that the voting machine you are using actually runs the wonderful open source software you spent months auditing in the first place.

          We are so backwards here. I feel so inadequate compared to those places that blew tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money on systems that don't work. You can tell they are *so* much superior to us.

    --
    AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
    1. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      What the fuck kind of post is this? You use sarcasm to disguise an apparent inferiority complex and ascribe attributes to Europeans who don't know and don't particularly care where the "fly-over" part of America is? It's terrific that your state has a balanced budget and that you're confident in the trustworthiness of your voting system but I reckon you've gone out of your way to seem like a huge dickhead with that irritating post of yours.

    2. Re:Here in Redneckville by T.E.D. · · Score: 2

      You know, I grew up in Oklahoma, and always heard that folks on the coasts thought of us as "fly-over" territory. However, as an adult I spent a decade living in various places on the eastern seaboard, and never once heard anyone use that term.

      Now I'm back in Oklahoma, and suddenly I hear it again. With some perspective, its pretty clear this is some kind of weird persecution complex. The sad part is I can now also pretty cearly see how rich folks (who of course do live on the coasts and wouldn't be caught dead here) merrily promote and use this complex for their own personal gain.

      Sad, really.

    3. Re:Here in Redneckville by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 1

      I live in what the Europeans like to call the backwater redneck racist Christian "fly-over" part of America.

      You Exaggerate off course. As a European, I think America is a no-fly zone.

      --
      Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    4. Re:Here in Redneckville by bit+trollent · · Score: 1, Troll

      The only problem with Redneckville is that it's full of ignorant loudmouths like you.

      Redneckville is so full of small minded, self righteous, dipshits that the governor has actually convinced you fools that he balanced the budget while taking out millions of dollars in bonds and laughing all the way to the bank, where he has lined his pockets with public money.

      Meanwhile, the governor has put in place voter suppression laws which run afoul of the Voting Rights Act, which was itself necessitated by racist dumb-asses in bigot flyover country.

    5. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your ignorance is showing

    6. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I live on the east coast and I don't really talk about or even think about places like Oklahoma. So obviously I would never use the term "fly-over" territory. Unless, that is, I'm actually flying over them, and then I think "Wow, there's nothing down there but a bunch of farmland. I guess that's why they call them fly-over states."

      "At least they still use Scantron sheets."

    7. Re:Here in Redneckville by PhilHibbs · · Score: 1

      I've only ever heard the term "fly-over state" in American movies.

    8. Re:Here in Redneckville by HornWumpus · · Score: 0

      NY, LA and SF is where the people who use the term live.

      These people are basically NY hicks (if you think the world ends at the border of your hometown you are a hick, even if your hometown is NYC).

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    9. Re:Here in Redneckville by hey! · · Score: 1

      I live in what the Europeans like to call the backwater redneck racist Christian "fly-over" part of America.

      It's those Europeans and their 35 hour work weeks and thirty days of paid leave per year. They have so much time on their hands they have nothing better to do than think about you and dream up long-winded, patronizing ways to talk about you.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    10. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why are you so worked up about your state being called a "redneck" state? Surely, if you don't want new technologies, go live wit Amish people.

    11. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We are so stupid that the state actually has a balanced budget.. what a bunch of inbred hicks we are.

      Your state also takes in way more federal dollars than it puts in via taxes. Those states that you think are persecuting you, ie NY, NJ, California? They put in way more money into the federal money pit than they get back. So you have them to thank for that balanced budget you're congratulating yourself on.

      http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/11/states-federal-taxes-spending-charts-maps

    12. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I live in NY. Obviously you don't, because nobody uses that term here. The only time I've heard it was from people who live in the Midwest and are convinced everyone on the coasts is out to get them. Probably because they sponge more tax dollars off the fed than they put in, while the opposite is true of NY, NJ, and California.

      http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/11/states-federal-taxes-spending-charts-maps

    13. Re:Here in Redneckville by cluedweasel · · Score: 1

      So where does your state come on this list? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe-election-politics/802116-how-much-does-your-state-get-federal-government.html. Looks like the non-"flyover" states get a lot less back from the Federal government than they put in. Let's face it, if the U.S. could keep the western sea-board and then north-east and ditch the rest, the country would be in a lot better shape. As for Europeans and fly-over, where I come from fly-over means an overpass. Last I checked, my home country was part of Europe and we never use that term.

    14. Re:Here in Redneckville by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      It's been quite a few years since I've heard the term used. I think it's used more in those states themselves than elsewhere.

    15. Re:Here in Redneckville by HornWumpus · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Just like 'politically correct' the roaches scatter and claim the other side invented the term.

      Also note that the money in/out reflects military base location. 20 years ago it was reversed (and had been for decades), but base closures hit the expensive states harder.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    16. Re:Here in Redneckville by lgw · · Score: 1

      If you're not familiar with the differences in US states, most of the states at the top of the "get money" list are either very poor areas (who presuambly need some help) , or farm states (or both). Farm subsidies are a huge form of corporate corruption in the US these days that no one really thinks about, so it just keeps getting worse.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    17. Re:Here in Redneckville by T.E.D. · · Score: 2

      Interesting.

      If you're interested, I do have an anecdote about the term "Political Correctness". In 1989 (perhaps 90?) I had a (self-identified) right winger walk into my cubicle and demand to know what I thought about it, like I'd heard the term before. Once we'd ascertained that I hadn't, he came back a bit later with his copy of National Review containing an article about it (which I dutifully read). When he found out that I only about 70% agreed with the article, rather than 100%, he walked away from me in mid-sentence. Apparently he wasn't interested in hearing the details of any other opinion.

      So the first place I ever heard the term was in 1989 in an influential right-wing magazine article. I do have to wonder if his apparent belief that I'd heard the term before has any relationship to the confusion among some about who came up with it first. If you never actually listen to people you disagree with, instead gathering all that information from people who don't want you to like them, you can get some pretty wacked-out ideas about what they actually think.

    18. Re:Here in Redneckville by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      ...that's pretty much what I found.

      Which in a rational world should not have surprised me or anyone else. Why should you, unless there is some good reason to? It's not like we Okies sit around thinking about Philadelphia, unless they are playing the Thunder or something. :-)

      Its sad how much this stuff looks like the crazy crap you see coming out of foriegn despotisims, where the leaders would have you believe we Americans sit around all day plotting against them, when in fact if they disappeared off the face of the earth most of us, from plummers up to the POTUS, would never know. Its just a story perpetuated by their own media to keep the people from turning on the power structure, which is the real source of their problems.

      Sad that so many here fall for the same crap that the masses in Banannastan fall for.

    19. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What he means by "our voting system isn't worthy of being audited" is they don't bother to count, because anyone who would consider voting differently from the heard would have been ostracized.

    20. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm European and nobody here gives a fuck about you enough to call you the "fly-over part of America." Everything interesting in the U.S. comes out of New York, Seattle or California. Deal with it.

    21. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Military bases. That's where the money goes as the base closings have moved military installations from the coasts to more inland.

    22. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're also forgetting to account for military bases. With all the base closings over the past couple decades, the bases have moved from the coasts inland. My city has received work from at least 2-3 base closings because of it.

    23. Re:Here in Redneckville by TheSeatOfMyPants · · Score: 1

      I'm from the SF Bay Area, and folks here don't use the term "flyover country"...

      --
      Now mostly at Usenet:comp.misc & SoylentNews.org (it's made of people!)
    24. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know who invented the term, and neither do you. I do know that I don't hear anyone on the east coast use it, and apparently all of the George W. Bush fans from Wyoming to Arkansas are obsessed with what they think everyone outside their states is calling their states. Massive inferiority complex, which you obviously have a share of.

    25. Re:Here in Redneckville by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      base closures hit the expensive states harder.

      By what measure? Apparently the "expensive states" are doing just fine, as the per capita incomes are still higher, 20 years later - but close down those bases in the handout states and Congressmen would raise holy hell about how badly it would hurt 'em. It doesn't really matter why the money is going to the red states - fact is, today (not 20 years ago) it is pouring into the red states and that money is coming in off the work of the people in the blue states. If you're so against wealth redistribution, lobby your Congressman to close those bases and end those farm subsidies. Oh, you're not in favor of that? Didn't think so.

  12. Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by benjfowler · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... get the basics right.

    Like having an non-partisan public service, a non-partisan committee of civil servants administering the election and drawing the boundaries?

    Like any non-banana republic?

    From the point of view of other Anglo-Saxon countries, and Europe, the US is a basketcase.

    Recent US elections, e.g. Florida during Bush Jr's reelection campaign, would make disgrace your average Third World shithole, let alone the richest and most powerful nation on Earth.

    1. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by SirGarlon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      let alone the richest and most powerful nation on Earth

      The United States is not the richest country on Earth by the most important measure. It's #6.

      I live in the USA and from where I'm standing, mine is not the most powerful nation on Earth either. The most powerful country is one that doesn't have to listen to what anyone else says. I give that honor to China, based on my observation that China is completely unaccountable for its misdeeds (annexation of Tibet and currency manipulation come readily to mind).

      --
      [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
    2. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by strong_epoxy · · Score: 1

      Where are these 'non-partisan' people you talk about? Are they like people without an opinion? They don't care? They're to run elections?

      Or are they really people who agree with you?

    3. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by PhilHibbs · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure the US government has more money to spend than Luxembourg does.

    4. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      In 2000, it got bad enough in Florida that Fidel Castro half-seriously offered to send Cuban election observers.

      The disgrace in 2004 (Bush Jr's re-election) was in Ohio, where:
      - The CEO of the Ohio-based voting machine manufacturer, Diebold, promised to deliver Ohio for the Bush campaign.
      - The election results differed significantly from exit polling, suggesting some sort of problem.
      - Voter registration forms from the northeastern area of the state (which is heavily Democratic) were rejected by the Republican Secretary of State because they were filled out on the wrong kind of paper stock.
      - Voting machine distribution was inconsistent, ensuring that people in more Republican precincts could vote in 15-30 minutes while in more Democratic precincts voting took over 3 hours.
      - There was some evidence of forged audits.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    5. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      Your most important measure lists Qatar as the wealthiest nation on Earth.

      China has had some rather embarrassing incidents over the past couple of years, such as the story of Chen Guangcheng. They aren't really able to just do what they feel like.

      Perhaps you should rethink your ideas.

    6. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      > Like having an non-partisan...

      Only a fool believes that there is any non-partisan anything.

       

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    7. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by tomhath · · Score: 0

      Non-partisan is an impossible dream. The only realistic system is bipartisan; officials from both major parties present to watch each other.

      And holding up Europe as a better example? I'm too lazy to search, but I've read plenty of reports where the loser in an election there received more votes than there are registered voters.

    8. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by RogueLeaderX · · Score: 1

      In that sense, computers will make ideal election judges.

      The problem is feeding the computers rules that are actually non-partisan and keeping the people from messing with them.

    9. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by shentino · · Score: 1

      China is unaccountable because it has sovereign immunity.

    10. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Define "important" and explain the relevance of that definition in this context.

      As for your definition of power: Are kids running around completely unaccountable for their actions powerful? No. They are simply not being held accountable by those with more power.

    11. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by Hatta · · Score: 1

      From the point of view of other Anglo-Saxon countries, and Europe, the US is a basketcase.

      From the point of any reasonable human being the US is a basket case.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    12. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by cryptolemur · · Score: 1

      I'm too lazy to search, but I've read plenty of reports where the loser in an election there received more votes than there are registered voters.

      That'd be somewhat difficult with the every adult citizen being automatically "registered" and average turnout over Europe being in the low to high 60's...

    13. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by ewieling · · Score: 1

      Thinking the United States is "the best country in the world" is what I call the "American Delusion". The statement is factually incorrect in so many ways, but the population still thinks we are "the best". If we cannot recognize our problems, how will we ever fix them?

      I'm sure different lists will rank slightly differently, lower is better:
      Per capita GDP: #6 (wikipedia)
      Life expectancy at birth: #50 (CIA factbook)
      Freedom of the press: #47 (reporters without borders)
      Population living in poverty: #23 (CIA factbook)
      Infant mortality: #47 (CIA factbook)
      Median household income: #2 (wikipedia)

      We are the highest in the following:
      Percent of population incarcerated: #1
      Health care costs: #1

      There is no one indicator of "best", but the Unites states is not the best or even close to the best in many important ways.

      --
      I really shouldn't have used someone else's email address for this account.
    14. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Citation needed. And off the cuff, a simple explanation for the wrong stock of paper is that the state only issues voter reg cards on certain paper, therefore they could likely have been fakes. It's been 4 years, surely you still aren't blaming Bush for everything are you? Don't be bitter just cause your guy lost.

    15. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by afidel · · Score: 1

      The five above the US aren't really countries, more like large cities (Norway has some land mass but at 5M people there are more than 50 cities in the world with larger populations).

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    16. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by afidel · · Score: 1

      Not only were the machines unevenly distributed, and possibly rigged, but a huge number of them were simply broken. After 2004 we switched to scantron ballots which make by far the most sense to me.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    17. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      Other countries have professional civil services which must abide by very strict rules governing their behaviour, where they must not favour one side of politics over the other. This does not preclude individuals having their own political opinions; they're just not allowed to act on them in an official capacity, and there are consequences for doing the wrong thing.

      This isn't rocket science.

    18. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      In a country as politically and socially divided as America, perhaps. This isn't an issue in Australia (where I'm from), where the Australian Electoral Commission is widely trusted and respected to run honest elections.

    19. Re:Rather than fussing over electronic voting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Recent US elections, e.g. Florida during Bush Jr's reelection campaign, would make disgrace your average Third World shithole

      I think you're severely overestimating the voting prowess of your average Third world "shithole":

      http://www.smh.com.au/world/cannibal-cult-killings-delay-papua-new-guinea-vote-20120706-21kpy.html
      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-24/fraud-violence-cloud-png-election/4089364

      Out and out vote buying is endemic in PNG: Candidates hand out cash bribes of up to $20 for a vote. There are signs all over Port Moresby that are intended to bring awareness to the issue.

  13. Sensationalist Post by GeneralTurgidson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    People would rather blame an election on stolen votes instead of realizing the electorate really is that stupid.

    1. Re:Sensationalist Post by Hatta · · Score: 2

      Like a magician's card trick, the entire thing is rigged before you even make your selection.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    2. Re:Sensationalist Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would you think they're that stupid?... oh yeah, they watch Fox - "Fairly Unbalanced". Of course having a candidate come up with a negative vote count in Florida would be absolutely no reason to think someone tampered with the vote count, eh?

    3. Re:Sensationalist Post by shentino · · Score: 2

      The problem is that we have to deal with BOTH issues.

      The electorate is stupid AND votes are stolen.

    4. Re:Sensationalist Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      George Carlin spoke on this a bit:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efKguI0NFek

  14. The election is already stolen by trout007 · · Score: 2

    The powers that be have both of their choices lined up. It's a win-win for them and a lose-lose for us.

    Putting rhetoric aside, can anyone tell me what real policy differences there are? From what I've seen it's a matter of degree not direction.

    --
    I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
    1. Re:The election is already stolen by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      The powers that be have both of their choices lined up. It's a win-win for them and a lose-lose for us.

      Putting rhetoric aside, can anyone tell me what real policy differences there are? From what I've seen it's a matter of degree not direction.

      You mean the parties. You can always vote for non-Democrat non-Republican choices. Lots of smaller parties abound and every now and then a third party rises (usually to vanish again within a few years due to infighting.)

      Personally I like the idea of run-off elections. Stop the parties giving us only one choice, each, because (as we can see with Mitt) between locking up the nomination and election day they could falter, utter something completely at odds with their party and suddenly look far less worthwhile. Let everyone run, let's take the best 2 or 3 and have a run-off. That fixes this "grooming" junk.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:The election is already stolen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Voting for rulers in to get more favorable bribes in return is simply begging for bits of what belong to us already. It is a self abusing fantasy to pretend for the sake of thieves that this is a participatory voluntary arrangement. It is not. It is guys with guns bribing a few dependents to support their theft. It is school yard bullies getting you to plead for bits of your lunch money back. Such a self shaming action is not fit for us. We are better than that and we deserve better than that. Sacrificing pride for the sake of legitimizing this violence is too embarrassing to be a part of. Do not beg for what is yours.

  15. You can vote for anyone you like by ackthpt · · Score: 2

    In so much as it is the candidate my voting machine company has coded into the ballot software.

    Well, that was about the same threat as the Diebold chief.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  16. RTFA by rwv · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I guess the original article is a year-old Slashdot discussion for this one.... so some of us may *actually* have read it, but surely we don't remember and for the integrity of this discussion I hope nobody goes back and re-reads it.

  17. Election is already stolen by 0.01% by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes agreed, The Point Zero One decide who wins, and what the "winner" will say and do... Goodbye democracy old friend.

  18. Could you be any whinier? by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    And more out of touch? You seriously think that the electoral process could be completely changed in one year? You'd probably do as well not to vote given that you clearly have a very poor understanding of how the system actually works. You seem to want a dictatorship, which is the only kind of government where such sweeping reforms could be discussed and implemented across a large diverse nation in such a short time.

    Also as for all your whines about auditing and transparency, that is actually something existing paper ballots are quite good at. There is a permanent record of the votes, they can and are counted in open forums by multiple people and so on. They have their issues to be sure but openness and auditing aren't big ones.

    E-voting is a complex issue. It isn't the sort of thing we want to rush in to.

    No, just because your preferred candidate doesn't win, doesn't mean the election was "stolen".

    1. Re:Could you be any whinier? by cdrguru · · Score: 1

      How did "everyone" know that Bush stole the election from Gore? Because in 2000 CBS News announced Gore as the winner around midnight Central time and people went to bed. When they woke up the next morning Gore had retracted his declaration of victory and the Bush was the winner. Clearly something had happened between the time these people went to bed and when they got up in the morning and the only logical conclusion was that Bush stole the election. After all, Gore had been declared the winner.

      My guess is that if the TV News people ever do that again there will be riots in the streets and a lot of properly (meaninglessly) burned up.

  19. Voter Reform? by Grizzley9 · · Score: 1

    First things first. How about we just get Voter ID laws passed first so we know who is actually voting. Then we can work on getting everyone the simple scan-trons that work so well around here.

    But..but..Voter ID laws disenfranchise people! Of all the things you need an ID for in life many of them are much less important that voting. Nothing worse than going to the polls and finding someone (unique name) already signed in as you and voted.

    1. Re:Voter Reform? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Nothing worse than going to the polls and finding someone (unique name) already signed in as you and voted"

      how would you know if it virtually never happens?

    2. Re:Voter Reform? by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      We have Voter ID. It's called registering to vote. Your voter registration card should be all the ID you need. Anything else is a waste of peoples time and money. People actually showing up at a poling place to impersonate another voter is so rare that more people are struck by lightening every year than attempt this fraud.

    3. Re:Voter Reform? by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      How about we just get Voter ID laws passed first so we know who is actually voting.

      Existing law already requires that you identify yourself to the satisfaction of the electoral judges and provides precedures for protests. Electoral judges who fail their duties under present law are not going to notice fake IDs.

      Of all the things you need an ID for in life...

      There are far too many of them.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    4. Re:Voter Reform? by tomhath · · Score: 1

      Voter ID means two things: You need to prove who you are (registration card is worthless for that), and you need to prove that you haven't already voted (finger dye is simple and cheap). Impersonating another voter isn't why identification is required. Id is needed to ensure that a person has the right to cast a vote in a given location.

      The most serious fraud is committed by officials tossing out votes during a recount. Look no farther than the 2008 Minnesota senate race; Democrats also tried this in the 2000 Florida recount but were watched too closely.

    5. Re:Voter Reform? by Grizzley9 · · Score: 1

      How about we just get Voter ID laws passed first so we know who is actually voting.

      Existing law already requires that you identify yourself to the satisfaction of the electoral judges and provides precedures for protests. Electoral judges who fail their duties under present law are not going to notice fake IDs.

      Fair enough, but requiring a verbal response and signature is all that is needed in many places. This will force uniformity and be another protection against dead people and out of state folks from voting.

      Of all the things you need an ID for in life...

      There are far too many of them.

      Quantity of how many things require ID in no way affects the legitimacy of req'ing a gov ID to prove you are who you are and that you are allowed to vote.

    6. Re:Voter Reform? by Grizzley9 · · Score: 1

      "Nothing worse than going to the polls and finding someone (unique name) already signed in as you and voted"

      how would you know if it virtually never happens?

      Because it happens more than you realize or care to believe. It's happened to immediate relatives of mine.

    7. Re:Voter Reform? by Grizzley9 · · Score: 1

      We have Voter ID. It's called registering to vote. Your voter registration card should be all the ID you need. Anything else is a waste of peoples time and money. People actually showing up at a poling place to impersonate another voter is so rare that more people are struck by lightening every year than attempt this fraud.

      And yet I've never been asked in 20+ years for my voter registration card. Never. It is always a verbal name and then a signature (if someone hadn't beat me to it already.) It is one more check against fraud, against out of town people bussed in to vote, against the dead voting, or against multiple voting, etc. It's a simple logical rule for the revered act of voting.

    8. Re:Voter Reform? by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      When you go to vote you have to sign the poll book before they give you your ballot. Or as is the case here in Oregon where we do vote by mail I have to sign the outside of my ballot which gets compared to my signature on file from when I registered before they remove the ballot and put it in the pile of ballots to be counted. If there was any evidence that what you fear is actually happening I'd be more sympathetic the the voter ID laws but as I said, more people are struck by lightening every year than are accused of in person voter fraud. It's just a made up issue for political gain.

    9. Re:Voter Reform? by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      Your signature in the poll book is evidence of who you are and of the fact that you have not already voted. Why is there a need for anything else?

      You can accuse voting officials of fraud all you want but until some of them actually get convicted of it I'm not going to worry about it. Voter ID laws don't do anything to fix that problem anyway.

    10. Re:Voter Reform? by cdrguru · · Score: 1

      Signature? The last time I voted in Arizona (by mail) if you signed the outside of the envelope the ballot was trashed because this violated the ballot secrecy requirements. Signing the big book at the polling place is fine, but what exactly do they compare it to? They do not have any "original signatures" at the polling place (at least not in Arizona or Illinois) and the signatures can only be compared if individual votes are contested. Which isn't really going to happen.

      I suppose if you find someone voted for you already that you could contest that - but there is no getting rid of the ballot that was voted.

      The rarity of evidence in cases of voter fraud is mostly because nobody wants to know about it. Nobody at all, except maybe the person that "lost their vote" because someone voted in their name already. Which I will agree is so rare as to be unheard of. What we all know is that blocks of people vote without ever going near a polling place in cities like Chicago. The "cemetary vote" is legendary there and has been for probably a hundred years. But where is the proof and the convictions? Did I say nobody wants to know about it? Everyone living in Chicago knows about it but no offical action has ever been taken and none will ever be taken. Cook County was known to have been swung for JFK in 1960 and there was some pretty convincing evidence of it happening - but nothing official was ever done.

        You aren't going to convince anyone that ever lived in Chicago that voter fraud doesn't happen.

    11. Re:Voter Reform? by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      If that's the case then Arizona is doing vote by mail wrong. In Oregon the ballot is inside a "privacy" envelope that you put in the outer envelope where you sign it. All signatures are compared to a digitized version of your signature before the privacy envelope is separated from the signed envelope. If they can't confirm that your signature matches they call you up and give you the opportunity to confirm that it is your signature and to make a new one for the database if necessary.

      The rarity of voter fraud is because nobody is doing it. if you were in the country illegally would you want to draw attention to yourself by trying to vote? I certainly wouldn't. If all of those things you mention about Chicago are happening now then someone needs to do something about it but voter ID laws will not fix the problem. The only thing that voter ID laws can fix is people impersonating other people at polling places and that as I said is so rare it's not worth the effort to stop.

  20. Don't forget local races and propositions by davidwr · · Score: 1

    If a local alcohol- or bond-election is within a few votes and there are more than that number of non-verifiable e-ballots, you may see a local judge invalidate the election and force a do-over.

    No local entity is going to want to put up with having to pay for two elections.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  21. Mexico uses analog votes, still open to fraud by Nushio · · Score: 1

    Democracy is dead. In today's world of overflowing money, the one with the largest pockets will win.

    In Mexico, we claim to have an institution dedicated to fight Vote Fraud, but despite innumerable amounts of proof that PRI (Political Party) bought votes, and people purposedly miscounted votes, or nulled them, they've done absolutely nothing.

    It doesn't matter the system, analog or digital. They (The ones with power) impose whoever they want. I've given up trying.

    --
    Check out Unsealed: Whispers of Wisdom! http://unsealed.k3rnel.net It's an action-RPG about Open Sourcerers.
    1. Re:Mexico uses analog votes, still open to fraud by RogueLeaderX · · Score: 1

      http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/may/money-influence-elections-052112.html

      These stanford researches show that there's (usually) a limit to the influence money has over elections themselves.

      Things I hope they tackle next:

      1. Influence money has over who gets on the ballot
      2. Influence money has over elected officials

  22. why i didn't fix the system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the system isn't fixable

  23. Also by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't Vote!
    It just encourages the bastards!

  24. Hoard of Problems? by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

    I think he meant to say "horde of problems" (meaning a great amount of them). However, perhaps under the circumstances, "hoard" (meaning a stash that is being purposely hidden away) is just as appropriate. :-(

    1. Re:Hoard of Problems? by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      Neither! Next!

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
  25. What about bubble sheets? by Jim+Hall · · Score: 2

    Maybe this is a naive question, but what's wrong with bubble sheet voting ballots? Like those "A-B-C-D-E" forms you filled out when you took the SAT in high school. That's basically what we use in Minnesota, but just a little different because voting isn't just "A-B-C-D-E".

    Everyone knows how to fill out bubble sheets, so they're dead simple to use. When you've voted, you insert them into a scanner (it's also a locked box, old-fashioned key-and-lock, so no one except election officials can access they ballots once they're inserted). The scanner checks for simple stuff like "Did you vote for more than one presidential candidate?" and immediately spits your ballot out if it finds a problem. I made a mistake on my ballot once, and there's a simple, established procedure where they destroy your invalid ballot in front of you and issue you another ballot so you can vote again. It's easy.

    And bubble sheets are anonymous. No worrying about "Can someone figure out how I voted?"

    Above all, bubble sheets are auditable. While the scanners can easily keep track of how many votes for Obama v Romney, election officials can always go back to manually count the bubble sheets in the case of a recount. You may have heard about our 2008 recount - they manually recounted the bubble sheets.

    1. Re:What about bubble sheets? by jbeaupre · · Score: 1

      I've often thought this is a great idea, but would add a few things.

      1) PC/Software to print scantron sheet. Have it print the bubbles in one column and the name voted for in a second. Makes all of the "dots" consistent and provides a quick visual check.

      2) Allow voters to self scan ballots at a review machine. This allows voters to confirm their ballot is being read correctly.

      3) Provide a way for 3rd parties to use their machines with their own software during recounts (i.e. a recount could be done by election officials, Dems and Reps. But machines are run by election officials.)

      --
      The world is made by those who show up for the job.
    2. Re:What about bubble sheets? by Jim+Hall · · Score: 1

      We are doing all that already in Minnesota. I don't know how you'd request to get access to ballots to scan them independently (probably granted by the courts, for example: during a contested recount) but in theory if you could get them, you could easily scan the ballots using your own software for an independent check. This is also dead simple for election officials to recount manually, like in our contested Senate race in 2008 (if it's too close, state law forces a manual recount.)

      You may want to look at a few example ballots from Minnesota. Here's the 2012 general election sample ballot: PDF. The green numbers are explanatory notes - ignore them if you just want to see the ballot. This ballot is missing the feeder marks on either side of the page, which helps the scanner. And (obviously) the names and other text are just placeholders.

      You can see that our "bubble sheet" ballots are pretty straightforward. Voters just fill in the ovals next to their choices. You can even opt for write-in. I believe these ballots are 11x17, so a pretty standard size.

    3. Re:What about bubble sheets? by cdrguru · · Score: 1

      First problem is blind people. Second problem is what language the ballot is printed in - there is no official language for the US so every language has to be given equal weight. The language problem has already been decided in courts to the extent that if you ask for a ballot in Swahili the polling place workers are required to have one on hand and to give it to you. If they do not have such a ballot they have to make one up immediately so you can vote. Failure to do so is a violation of the Voting Rights Act and the county may be subject to a huge fine.

      Fun thing to do is ask in California (where I believe this requirement exists) for a ballot in Klingon. Might just be San Francisco County or something like that but I do recall this being decided a while back. This is one of the central requirements of the Help America Vote Act.

      Voting on paper isn't handicapped-friendly and it isn't language-friendly, so it is gone. Pretty much a done deal for most of the US now.

      Sure you could have a computer system print out a ballot for an auditable and recountable piece of paper. But the first requirement there is to get "auditable" and "recountable" into the list of requirements in the Help America Vote Act. Until that happens these concepts will go nowhere because both handicapped access and language-friendly did make it onto the list of requirements.

    4. Re:What about bubble sheets? by Jim+Hall · · Score: 1

      First problem is blind people. Second problem is what language the ballot is printed in - there is no official language for the US so every language has to be given equal weight. The language problem has already been decided in courts to the extent that if you ask for a ballot in Swahili the polling place workers are required to have one on hand and to give it to you. If they do not have such a ballot they have to make one up immediately so you can vote. Failure to do so is a violation of the Voting Rights Act and the county may be subject to a huge fine.

      ... Voting on paper isn't handicapped-friendly and it isn't language-friendly, so it is gone. Pretty much a done deal for most of the US now.

      Here's what the State of Minnesota says about accessible voting:

      If you need assistance due to the inability to read English or have a physical inability to mark a ballot you may obtain the assistance of any individual you choose with the exception of the following: your employer, agent of your employer, officer or agent of your union, or a candidate for election. Alternatively, you may obtain the aid of two election judges who are members of different political parties. See Minnesota Statutes, Section 204C.15 for more information.

      If you can’t easily leave your car, you can ask for the ballot to be brought out to you in your car. Two election judges from different political parties will bring the voting materials out and assist you.

      Also, Assistance with voting:

      If a voter needs assistance because of a disability, inability to read or write, difficulty with English, or other reasons, the voter has several options. The voter may: ... 3. Use the AutoMARK: Each polling place must have at least one voting machine accessible to disabled individuals, called the AutoMARK. It allows blind voters and those who have trouble marking the ballot themselves to vote independently by allowing voters to indicate their choices using a touch screen or headphones in combination with a keypad marked in Braille. The voter enters their choices and the AutoMARK prints the ballot for them. It does not count the votes or retain their choices. The voter then deposits their ballot into the optical scan ballot counter along with everyone else's.

      So we do accommodate the blind (my father-in-law is blind) in several ways. Also, if you have difficulty with English you are allowed to bring someone in to translate your options for you. If you prefer Klingon, for example, feel free to have Mark Okrand there in person with you.

    5. Re:What about bubble sheets? by TheSeatOfMyPants · · Score: 1

      I'm in charge ("Inspector") of a California precinct, and we use a variant on that as well... The inspector starts the day by showing the first voters that the metal ballot box is empty, then locks it; the voters then sign in (a four-part procedure), fill out their Scantron voting sheets, and drop them into the ballot box. (My county also has a Hart eSlate paper-trail computer set up with disability-access features at each precinct for anyone that wants/needs to use it, since it lets folks that are blind, illiterate, quadriplegic, severely arthritic, etc. vote unassisted.)

      I was really shocked when I heard that this isn't how the whole country does it -- it has been this way since I voted for the very first time in 1996, and I'm still not sure why the heck some areas are putting up with nonsense like hanging chads or other potential hazards.

      --
      Now mostly at Usenet:comp.misc & SoylentNews.org (it's made of people!)
    6. Re:What about bubble sheets? by TheSeatOfMyPants · · Score: 1

      The "any language including Klingon" would be just one county -- each one has its own slightly different setup, and I know that the one I volunteer in (Sonoma) doesn't offer every language...

      The regular vote here is still on paper by default with no plans to change it in the foreseeable future, but each precinct has a Hart eSlate computer set up to let people that are blind, quadriplegic, have shaky hands, etc. vote without human assistance (though it's also available for any citizen that wants to use it).

      --
      Now mostly at Usenet:comp.misc & SoylentNews.org (it's made of people!)
  26. And the obvious question is . . . . by sgt_doom · · Score: 3, Informative
    . . . .who owns those voting machine companies?

    Full Spectrum Dominance: Why transactional data matters

    During the Bush administration, at least on several occasions, the entire warrantless eavesdropping or wiretapping and FISA made the national news cycle for several days ---- yet each time, oddly enough, it was knocked off by the news of national immigration marches.

    What exactly was really accomplished by those national immigration marches?

    Other than occupying the news space on those days?

    Next obvious question would be who owned those Spanish-language radio stations responsible for organizing those marches?

    At that time, the major financial stake in those stations belonged to the private equity firm, the Blackstone Group, chaired by Peter G. Peterson, protégé of David Rockefeller.

    During that time the Blackstone Group also had a financial stake in telecoms in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, Portugal and Malta (Malta being an important nexus point, or physical exchange point, between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East), as well as one of the three major privatized global satellite networks at that period, New Skies Network (officially later sold off, but we never checked to see if Blackstone Group actually owned the company it was sold to?).

    So those national marches, which knocked warrantless wiretapping off the news cycle and involved AT&T, were organized by Blackstone Group-owned radio stations, chaired by the fellow whose financial-economic-political mentor was David Rockefeller.

    Now AT&T was broken up --- on paper at least --- but can anyone provide definite data to prove it was ever actually financially divested?

    Negative!

    Now, traditionally, AT&T was a Rockefeller-Morgan financial entity, which, by the way, happens to have re-conglomerated back to its original form, thanks in part to President Bill Clinton’s Telecommunications Act of 1996.

    And who led the charge in congress to grant immunity to AT&T and those telecoms involved in that warrantless wiretapping for the government?

    None other than Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia!

    My oh my, how those coincidences pile up?

    Recently, some very serious legislation has passed into law --- while other equally dangerous legislation has failed, for now --- although that failed legislation attacked net neutrality (equality of access to the Internet), it was really only to make into law that which is quickly becoming reality --- the end of net neutrality!

    Laws have been passed, in America and Europe and elsewhere, requiring ISPs to retain your data for 1 to 3 years or more.

    Why is this important to the ruling elites?

    Transactional data, surrounding information, dot connection, global linkage.

    Using existing DPI techniques (Deep Packet Inspection), they can virtually identify and extract information about you, your life, your family, the like of which most people cannot even imagine.

    Data mining hit critical mass around 2003 to 2004; and all it then required to identify a person exactly was their age and zip code --- today it probably requires less.

    A little while ago, a fellow from the New America Foundation wrote a book on ExxonMobil --- focusing on the personalities of its chief executives, and went on a book tour where not a single person who interviewed him (including NPR’s Terry Gross and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!) inquired as to the ownership of ExxonMobil?

    Now isn’t that freaking amazing? ? ? ?

    Of course, New America Foundation is funded by the Peterson Foundation, endowed by Peter G. Peterson, protégé of David Rockefeller. (ExxonMobil is a re-combining of the original Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Companies --- which were once broken up --- at least on paper --- as no valid data exists to suggest otherwise.)

    AT&T? ExxonMobil? Are we beginning to note a pa

    1. Re:And the obvious question is . . . . by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      Haha I've haven't seen a good conspiracy rant for a long time. Thanks for the entertainment.

    2. Re:And the obvious question is . . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cool story, bro!

      Captcha - accolade

    3. Re:And the obvious question is . . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not quite drunk enough to follow this yet. Better luck next time though.

    4. Re:And the obvious question is . . . . by randyleepublic · · Score: 1

      Not one word of this is true. Not one word.



      Probably the whole damned thing, but just one word? Nope.

      --
      Social Credit would solve everything...
  27. one thing needed to fix the problem by RobertLTux · · Score: 1

    We should require that every person fit to vote (adults not a felon not crazy/senile) do so or have "standing votes" where if you declare as %party% then unless you formally vote otherwise you count as having voted for the %party% candidate (require formal voting every Nth time to remain an active voter).

    --
    Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
    1. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      The Soviet Union used to have mandatory voting. Not a winning idea.

    2. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      We should require that every person fit to vote (adults not a felon not crazy/senile) do so or have "standing votes" where if you declare as %party% then unless you formally vote otherwise you count as having voted for the %party% candidate (require formal voting every Nth time to remain an active voter).

      Because there's no way to abuse that, right?

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    3. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Soviet Union used to have mandatory voting. Not a winning idea.

      Why not ? The principle is better that what you had/have in the US were for many decades presidents were elected with less than 50% of the population going to vote. Even with the electoral college system how the fuck is this more democratic ?

      As a citizen you have both rights and duties. To vote is a duty. Even a blank ballot is meaningful. But to say "why the fuck should I vote ?" is bad for democracy. We all have a stake in the democratic process, but to simple state that I don't vote 'cause I'm not interested is just plain hypocritical and damages the system.

    4. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

      Unless I interpreted this incorrectly, Australia has compulsory voting.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    5. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by RobertLTux · · Score: 1

      there are several ways to abuse that type of system of course but the point is to make it as easy as possible to Vote.
      Details on how to put checks and balances in other than the one i gave exercitium reliquit ad studiosum

      --
      Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
    6. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by fritsd · · Score: 1

      So does Belgium.

      Ok, ok.. BAD example.. although I think di Rupo managed to conjure up a cabinet somehow this year.

      --
      To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
    7. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... Australia has compulsory voting ...

      Correct. It is a stabilising influence. It means that factional vote-buying ( ban gay marriage/abortions/evolutionary theory) is nearly impossible. The national political parties need to have more inclusive bribes. eg. Hand-outs to senior citizens.

      Similarly, politicians and notional ideas must sell a "what's in it for you" idea. It's not enough to scream 'small government' or 'free-market' or 'socialism' (which is seen as a Good Thing in our oligopoly economy) to their fanbois, there must be proximity and effect which appeals to the ordinary citizen, in their policies. The odd 'think of the children' or US-led 'war on terror' does get through. Now copyright law is being updated, it will be interesting to see if the ACTA arrives here. Like Canada, Australia has lax laws regarding DRM and personal use (but not fair use).

      Because there are usually very few political upheavals, it means the incumbent party simply can get re-elected by doing almost nothing.

      And we see news reporting providing massive bias in their attitude to the various parties. When the conservative right was in power, politician-bashing didn't exist. Now the left is in power, the propaganda is non-stop. The left has always been unpopular but like many countries, politics devolves to a two-party system. When the people want change their is only one place to go. But the ever-popular right is failing to lead the way at the moment and the incumbent left is gaining popularity.

    8. Re:one thing needed to fix the problem by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Many countries in the world have mandatory voting, including quite a few that are universally recognized as real, free democracies. I don't think it's a stretch to require the citizens to perform a simple action once every four years to show that they actually care about being citizens. If anything could ever be said to be a definite public duty, voting in a democratic state is it, so the ethical angle is also covered pretty well.

  28. The main sticking point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The main election reform would be to get rid of the first-past-the-post system. Almost any other system is better. My favorite is the proportional scheme, but I think approval voting would be the most suitable incremental upgrade path for America. It's simple: just choose any number of candidates you want and all votes are counted. Or you could keep on voting like you always did. But it would give a chance for new ideas to grow and be measured fairly in the elections.

  29. Also no evidence of a real problem by clodney · · Score: 2, Informative

    Another election year is upon us, and our vote is less secure, less reliable, and less meaningful than ever. To reference the last article, we still have no open source voting, no end-to-end auditable voting systems and no open source governance.

    We also have no credible evidence of any organized tampering of the vote, either in mechanical or electronic forms. The systems may be wrong, but they are probably no worse than they have ever been, and I haven't seen any smoking gun saying that the machines were tampered with.

    I do see 3 forms of election fraud/dirty tricks commonly alleged:

    1. Fraudulent registrations. Indicated by people with no valid address or suspicious numbers of people residing at the same address. Not something an electronic voting system can address.
    2. Felons voting while still on probation. Not clear that felons vote for one party vs another, but even if it is organized, not something that e-voting would address.
    3. Dirty tricks along the lines of too few ballots or machines delivered to certain precincts causing long lines. Or making precincts inconveniently large. These are potentially done by one party or the other, but a certain number of these snafus are certainly due to incompetence or unexpectedly high voter turnouts. Also not something that changing the voting machines would address.

    So what is the problem that we are trying to solve again?

    1. Re:Also no evidence of a real problem by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 1

      We also have no credible evidence of any organized tampering of the vote, either in mechanical or electronic forms. The systems may be wrong, but they are probably no worse than they have ever been, and I haven't seen any smoking gun saying that the machines were tampered with.

      Well, that is kind of the point - these machines have such poor controls that tampering without leaving any evidence is supremely easy compared to paper ballot tampering of similar scale. These systems are inherently broken, like a car without brakes. You don't need to see it crash to know it shouldn't be built that way in the first place.

      Your examples of physical world problems with vote tampering are inherently limited by being physical world problems.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  30. Meh who cares by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    You can't tell Mittens' policies apart from Obama's without an electron microscope anyways. Flip a coin for it.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Meh who cares by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps there isn't that much difference between Romney and Obama but one things for sure, if Romney is the next President he will be installing more Supreme Court Justices like the ones who gave us the Citizens United decision, a decision that will go down in infamy like the Dred Scott decision.

    2. Re:Meh who cares by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      One other thing, if they're both the same you might as well go with the guy who has some on the job experience.

  31. No paper trail, no vote count! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Once digital, always vulnerable. Black on white. What is written, that is given. Volatile electrical charges need not apply here.

  32. The system is fixed by OldHawk777 · · Score: 1

    Political Castration of US is the baseline requirement for a nazi-republic or banana-republic north of the Río Bravo del Norte.

    Federal Union of Christian Kindness (FUCK) US will be a great republic of faux-christians, patriot-chickens, and pseudo-capitalist that excel at flag-waving, dogma-thumping, book-burning for the plutocrat-elites and their mindless neut-gestapo serial killers.

    --
    Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
  33. one vote per person is the problem by ThorGod · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The problem is the voting system only allows one vote per voter. You can prove, mathematically, that a "pluralistic" voting system winds up electing better candidates. It also makes it hard/impossible for a 2 party system to push out 3rd party candidates.

    There's a number of ways to do it. One is to give every voter N-1 votes and let them assign their votes to amongst the N candidates. Another is to have them rank the candidates in order of preference. (I.E. Johnson > Obama > Paul > Romney might be one ranking.)

    --
    PS: I don't reply to ACs.
    1. Re:one vote per person is the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

      One is to give every voter N-1 votes and let them assign their votes to amongst the N candidates.

      So, can I put all my N-1 votes on the same candidate, making it like now but much more votes? Or is it a maximum of one vote per candidate, meaning that you vote for EVERYONE but your single least favorite candidate? Neither case sounds practical.

      Another is to have them rank the candidates in order of preference. (I.E. Johnson > Obama > Paul > Romney might be one ranking.)

      While it sounds good in theory, forcing people to educate themselves about all candidates, it is not going to happen.

    2. Re:one vote per person is the problem by ThorGod · · Score: 1

      So, can I put all my N-1 votes on the same candidate, making it like now but much more votes? Or is it a maximum of one vote per candidate, meaning that you vote for EVERYONE but your single least favorite candidate? Neither case sounds practical.

      Both cases are practical and allowed/work fine. The case where you vote for everyone but a single is equivalent to taking away a vote from that candidate. It's like a "scorned vote" in that instance.

      Maybe everyone can't fully inform themselves of 15 different candidates. But that's definitely a better problem than having two candidates to choose from.

      --
      PS: I don't reply to ACs.
    3. Re:one vote per person is the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Careful with the phrase "pluralistic", as Plurality is another name for First-Past-The-Post voting.

    4. Re:one vote per person is the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In practice Republicans would just vote (Republican > 3rd party > Democrat)
      while Democrats would vote (Democrat > 3rd party > Republican),

      even if they liked the other party's candidate more than the independents.
      Game theory would counteract any potential advantage in a pluralistic voting system.

  34. Make the punishment REALLY severe by wisebabo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Look, tampering or wholesale stealing of the vote is about the worst thing that can happen in a democracy. No really.

    So punish the people caught with VERY severe punishments, like multi-decade stints in prison (sorry I'm against the death penalty). That way, even if you catch a little fish, chances are good he'll squeal like a pig and rat out the higher ups.

    My only fear is that some of the people who are crazy motivated might actually think that their cause is worth sacrificing the rest of their lives for. Fortunately the U.S. hasn't quite gotten to the point where those people are more than a tiny fraction of the population; otherwise you'd see suicide bombers at political events.

    (Also, "dirty tactics" like fraudulent robo-calls which claim to be someone who they aren't or send people to the wrong polling place, should have their punishments significantly increased. Again, you're subverting the basic premise of a democracy).

    1. Re:Make the punishment REALLY severe by IsamuKusanagi · · Score: 1

      life time imprisonment isn't enough. voter fraud, tampering with elections should be seen as treason and handled accordingly. treason = death

  35. the truth is : A vs B voting is fake... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    there is no longer a difference between reps and dems

    they are opposite sides of the same broken system

    both sides are bought and paid for by the corporate hegemony
    the A vs B voting paradigm is the matrix
    it is placed there to give you an illusion of control

    get rid of A and B, then start fresh, without reps and dems, voting systems are useless until then :)

  36. Who needs voting reform, when anyone can vote? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Subject + if you're dead, alive, illegal, a figure of imagination - who cares?

  37. And Dead People Still Vote ..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just don't ask the dead people for an ID to make sure they really are the dead person that they say that they say they are. If you do, you are very likely to end up in a lawsuit. Apparently, dead people don't like to have people ask them for their ID. Perhaps they don't have pockets.

  38. The cynics ... by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

    ... always come out whenever "elections" are mentioned.

    As though it actually doesn't matter who we vote for. It does. It's just that we always* vote for the same type of politician. We are gullible. It's also interesting that, even with all the cynicism, we have remarkably different states. Compare New York to Texas. There's a world of difference in the politicians, in the laws, in how people live, etc. So to think that "all politicians" or "all governors" are the same and it "doesn't matter who you vote for" ... to me, that smacks of either ignorant or exaggerated cynicism that ignores differences. To think that someone elected from the "Tea Party" is actually the same as Ye Olde Republican or Ye Olde Democrat party is ... well, pretty weird. You may think, of course, that TP and R/D politicians are all alike in that they are all politicians and motivated by corporate money, but even that seems a bit of a stretch. You may also think they are all extremists, but that's a stretch. But to say they're all the same [and get modded Insightful] is... meh. Cynical. :)

    * Of course, there are exceptions. :)

  39. All the more reason for federalism by bradley13 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No one's vote counts at the federal level. With 300,000,000 people in the country, there is no possible way to have representative government. Federal elections are as meaningful as beauty contests, only more corrupt.

    This is the single biggest argument for federalism, i.e., limiting federal power and keeping government as local as possible.
    In a local election, you can actually have an influence. Not only your vote, but your ability to contact and coordinate with some meaningful fraction of the electorate.

    This argument can be applied recursively. What can be done at the township level, should be.

    --
    Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
  40. Fuck this article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SLASHDOT itself dropped the ball.

    Don't complain when CIVIL WAR happens

  41. You should've voted Saxon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OT: OMG my captcha is "reelects"!!! For real.

  42. Re:And Dead People Still Vote ..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We absolutely must ask dead people for ID before they vote in the next One World Gummit 'Lection. We need to make sure they prove their citizenship too. We don't want no dead aliens trying to vote unless they get their citizenship first. Yes, no-longer-living sentient beings from other planets, I'm looking at you.

  43. Negative votes by shentino · · Score: 1

    I'd rather give one candidate a negative vote than merely give the other candidate a positive one.

    1. Re:Negative votes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey now, it's your own parties fault that their front-runner is the an obama clone whose own healthcare plan was modeled for Obamacare. Sucks when the fields wide open and it takes so long for a runner to get ahead. I too thought anyone could win on the I'm-not-Bush platform, but I was surprised in 2004. Big life lesson here. You can't run on a negative campaign. You can't be the alternative. You have to be a strong candidate on your own merit.

    2. Re:Negative votes by shentino · · Score: 1

      That's exactly my point.

      Without negative votes you're stuck between kodos and kang.

  44. our vote is less secure, less reliable... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is this year less secure or reliable than last year? Perhaps not better, but I don't see it as any worse.

  45. This isn't "voting reform" by jmerlin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It really isn't. What we're talking about here is voting platform reform. I don't really care how voting is done (via computerized terminal, via paper ballot, or even via Internet, after all I can file my taxes online). What I care about is that the system we have in place for voting for candidates almost always elects a candidate that a minority (generally a superminority) actually wants to be president. It also gives political parties extreme power based on sheer advertisement; most people view it as this-guy-or-that-guy and so they just pick the one they don't like and vote for the other guy. Political advertisement capitalizes on this behavior which is indeed caused by FPTP. It's also susceptible to gerrymandering and isn't friendly to new parties. And the entire electoral college is completely unnecessary given modern transportation systems, so we need to throw that out altogether.

    Relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo

    When we say "voting reform," I fundamentally mean that I want the actual voting system we use changed. We need a system that isn't susceptible to gerrymandering, that doesn't suffer from the spoiler effect, and that meets the condorcet criterion. Take your pick: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_system. On top of that, we need to shut down campaign contributions from corporations, political advertisement in main-stream media, and require all of the relevant information be gathered somewhere online like at vote.gov or something and make it accessible to everyone via public libraries, etc.

    There's a lot of reform that needs to be done, the least of which is how we collect votes. Come on guys, this is such a strawman to the real issues. Having your vote for dumbass #1 stolen and given to dumbass #2 doesn't matter. You are getting a dumbass as president almost nobody wants either way.

    1. Re:This isn't "voting reform" by Mal-2 · · Score: 1

      And the entire electoral college is completely unnecessary given modern transportation systems, so we need to throw that out altogether.

      I'd argue having all Congressmen in one city is unnecessary. Make them all telecommute, while LIVING in the district they supposedly represent. Then they might actually feel accountable to their electorate. Obviously Senators would only be compelled to live in a given state, since they don't have Senate districts.

      Why is it necessary to have everyone in one room to take a vote? Why make it easy for lobbyists to bend the ears of hundreds of Representatives or dozens of Senators at once?

      --
      How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
  46. Red Herring by mj24 · · Score: 1

    Asking for voting reform in America is a red herring, the real issue is to get the Internet to fix the imbalances that weren't anticipated when the Constitution was formulated, edge cases which, at the end of growth, have now become major crisiis. The "Founding Fathers" could have never anticipated the rise of media technology and how it would affect the democratic need for an informed citizenry. The Internet could be the basis for a true "Fourth Estate" as well provide a new basis for value generation to get us out of the destructive, top-heavy, Industrial paradigm.

    --
    ...He comes from the future.
  47. Or hierarchical representation by Immerman · · Score: 1

    It's also a good justification for the original method of having state legislatures elect Senators. With only a few hundred people in their electorate they were far more accountable. Not to mention their electorate were all politicians themselves, so they knew the dirty tricks to watch out for. Admittedly looking out for the interests of the state legislators is not necessarily synonymous with looking out for the interests of the people, but that's what the House of Representatives was for - a populous counterbalance that (theoretically) represented the will of the people, but by necessity was far less accountable as well.

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    1. Re:Or hierarchical representation by lgw · · Score: 1

      It's also a good justification for the original method of having state legislatures elect Senators.

      We did away with that system because it had become completely, utterly corrupt. Senators were openly bought by large corporations. Sound familiar? I could se moving back to that system, not because it's any better, but only because it would buy us a decade or two while the corporate machine slowly adjusted to the new system and found a new way to buy their way to power (then of course shifting back to what we have today would make sense).

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    2. Re:Or hierarchical representation by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      We did away with that system because it had become completely, utterly corrupt. Senators were openly bought by large corporations. Sound familiar? I could se moving back to that system, not because it's any better, but only because it would buy us a decade or two while the corporate machine slowly adjusted to the new system and found a new way to buy their way to power (then of course shifting back to what we have today would make sense).

      Well, if it at least lowered the price per senator...I'd still be in favor of bringing them back in to being appointed by the state legislators.

      Anything is better than what we're currently stuck with....which is WAY too much $$ influence on such a small group.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:Or hierarchical representation by UnderCoverPenguin · · Score: 1

      It's also a good justification for the original method of having state legislatures elect Senators.

      We did away with that system because it had become completely, utterly corrupt. Senators were openly bought by large corporations. Sound familiar? I could se moving back to that system, ... only because it would buy us a decade or two while the corporate machine slowly adjusted to the new system and found a new way to buy their way to power.

      Nice theory, but big corps would adapt immediately. Much smaller audience to pursuade. And they already have the lobbyists in place.

      --
      Don't try to out wierd me, three-eyes. I get stranger things than you, free with my breakfast cereal. --Zaphod Beeblebr
    4. Re:Or hierarchical representation by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      It's also a good justification for the original method of having state legislatures elect Senators. With only a few hundred people in their electorate they were far more accountable.

      Yes, it is.

      Ironically, such system - where every level elects its representative to the level above it - is more or less how the Soviet system was meant to function (and did, in its first few years, if you ignore the class restrictions on voting) - the lowest-level council was was elected by and from people living in some town or village, and it delegated one of its own to take part in a higher-level council representing a region, and so on until the highest level which was dealing with matters on a country-wide scale (commie councils had four levels - towns, provinces, regions, and the national council). The key points of this system is that every council is responsible for micromanaging its own area of representation, and that all delegates are directly responsible to councils that send them (i.e. they can be asked for reports, can be ordered to vote the way the delegating council demands them to, and can be recalled immediately if they do not follow such an order).

    5. Re:Or hierarchical representation by westlake · · Score: 1

      Senators were openly bought by large corporations./quote The Senators were often the robber barons themselves or only a bare step or two down from the top.

    6. Re:Or hierarchical representation by lgw · · Score: 1

      Nice theory, but big corps would adapt immediately

      If you'd ever worked for a big corporation, you'd never use that phrase again! Heck, if the likes of the RIAA were capable of adapting quickly to a changing environment, they woukdn't need to buy senators in the first place!

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  48. Kickstarter by tocs · · Score: 1
    So, I have been thinking about this and the problem, in part seems to be money in politics. People and groups with money hold sway with politicians because they can pay (in terms of campaign donations and lobbying).

    Maybe, if some group wants some sort of change (voting reform for example) they should just raise the money and pay the politicians to make the changes. It could be something like Kickstarter could be a vehicle for raising the money. If it is a popular idea lots of people donate and pay for the changes.

    Some one can post there great idea for some legislation. A bunch of people donate. The person with the idea can for a Super PAC of hirer lobbyists and try to get the changes made. At the very least they would have some influence in the direction legislation goes.

    It would not be that different than what is going on now.

  49. Democrats would never allow that by Quila · · Score: 1

    That would require voter ID, and Democrats are against that.

    Ostensibly this is because getting an ID costs money, and that amounts ot a poll tax. I could agree with that argument, but then they still complain when laws are passed that make the ID free if a person can't afford it. The truth lies in a recent attempt in North Carolina to remove foreign consulate matricula cards from the list of valid forms of identification that can lead to someone getting a driver's license (valid state ID). The Democrats oppose this.

    1. Re:Democrats would never allow that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While the expense of getting Photo ID is a concern, please don't mistake it for the totality of the objection. I would also note that even in states where the ID is ostensibly free, people are still having problems with being charged for it. Not to mention the expense of getting the required paperwork. That's the burden that gets a lot of attention. But that isn't the whole story.

      The truth is that Democrats recognize these attempts for what they are. An attempt to disenfranchise voters Republicans don't want voting. I've said several times that my requirement for photo ID for voting is a proactive effort by the state to provide citizens with the ID. This has been rejected as too expensive or something. Because apparently conducting an election should be done on the cheap?

      Sorry, erstwhile conservatives, but your desire to let the state bureaucracy rule is so blatantly in-congruent with your professed desire for freedom from the government that your ulterior agenda is obvious. Especially when even more exceptions are granted for absentee ballots. Not properly signed and witnessed? Still counts. Doesn't arrive on time? Better count it. Yay!

      Sorry, but the right-wing isn't trying to protect the integrity of the voting system, but corrupt it. Why else would they promise yet another win because if it? Trying to get us to believe that it's the corrupt Democrats at fault or something?

    2. Re:Democrats would never allow that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would require voter ID, and Democrats are against that.

      Ostensibly this is because getting an ID costs money, and that amounts ot a poll tax. I could agree with that argument, but then they still complain when laws are passed that make the ID free if a person can't afford it. The truth lies in a recent attempt in North Carolina to remove foreign consulate matricula cards from the list of valid forms of identification that can lead to someone getting a driver's license (valid state ID). The Democrats oppose this.

      Make getting Voter ID simple. As is, most states are still rather opposed to it. My proposition: We've got Federal Holidays. USE 'EM. Everyone gets 2-3 times a year where they can go to get their Voter ID card, they are required to every year or two or so.

      The attitude towards voter registration in America seems to be "Well, it's YOUR problem to do it." Ignoring the cases where it's a terrific pain in the ass because you can't get the day off from your boss who doesn't give a shit, about issues with transportation, or the patently obstructive nature of the DMVs... ...And no matter how much the right bitches about 'VOTER FRAUD', it just doesn't happen. What does happen is inaccurate 'purges' that disproportionately affect Democrats they later admit are legitimate. I recall that Florida narrowed it's purge size from 180000 to 2800, and had, at last count, somewhere over 1000 genuine voters in that 2800 affected.

      Short version: Voter ID is not a pressing problem. The stuff outlined in this article is. I mean, first rule of ANY conspiracy - limit the number of people you need. A dozen computer geeks >>> 5000 illegal immigrants on a bus for some election-swaying conspiracy.

    3. Re:Democrats would never allow that by Aighearach · · Score: 2

      That would require voter ID, and Democrats are against that.

      Nice try but this is slashdot not Faux News.

      The reality is that Democrats are opposed to voter ID laws that disenfranchise the poor. Many, many Democrats supports voter ID systems that do not create a disadvantage. For example, making sure that voter IDs are free, available to people in remote locations who can't travel, and available to people who don't have a copy of their birth certificate. If you're trying to catch actual fraud, you don't have to have a draconian system that is happy to turn voters away. All you need to do is keep track of the oddities and exceptions and then cross reference them or start from them when problems are reported.

      The fact that so many people on the right who push voter ID aren't even honest about their reasons for wanting it is a substantial barrier to making it happen. Luckily voter fraud is less likely than death by lighting.

    4. Re:Democrats would never allow that by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Luckily voter fraud is less likely than death by lighting.

      This is what liberals say when the topic of voter id and making people prove they are authorized to vote before letting them vote comes up.

      Otherwise, the elections are being stolen by Republicans and massive vote fraud is why more liberals aren't being elected.

      The truth is, voting fraud is quite common in some areas of the country. So common that it is a standing joke. Like Chicago, where they say the districts with cemetaries have a quite good turnout every time a democrat is on the ballot. And "public transit" means the buses that carry the voters around to the different polling places so they can vote multiple times more easily.

    5. Re:Democrats would never allow that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Voter fraud? No, it's voter disenfranchisement that is keeping Republicans elected. That comes in a variety of ways from gerrymandering to incompetently conducted elections.

      None of your unsupported examples are actually going to be solved with your solution either. Dead voters come from corrupt elections, and if somebody is taking the time to bus people around (which they wouldn't, because corrupting elections officials is cheaper), they would make fake IDs with ease.

      It's a joke, one you think is real, but it's not.

    6. Re:Democrats would never allow that by bryan1945 · · Score: 1

      Not in Pennsylvania. All those examples were trotted out by the Dems, so the level of proof of who you were was lowered to about "here's my water bill." And if they are in remote locations and can't travel, how do they vote? Ah, Dems come pick them up to drive them there.
      Your left leanings are rather transparent.

      --
      Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
    7. Re:Democrats would never allow that by Quila · · Score: 1

      That comes in a variety of ways from gerrymandering to incompetently conducted elections.

      Gerrymandering? You are blind if you think that is a Republican-only feature. Democrats threaded the Illinois 4th through Hispanic neighborhoods to get a Democrat Hispanic in office. Batshit crazy, title holder of meanest congresswoman, Sheila Jackson-Lee has a district with a hole punched in it to cut out whites and pack it with Hispanics and blacks.

      But I can't figure out which one is more insane, Maryland's 3rd district that looks like a Rorsach test of Democrat populations, or the North Carolina 12th as drawn by Democrats in the 90s. Back then it cut vertically through most of the state, long and thin reaching out to Democrat pockets along the I85, being only as wide as the I85 in places in order to maintain a contiguous nature.

      and if somebody is taking the time to bus people around (which they wouldn't, because corrupting elections officials is cheaper), they would make fake IDs with ease.

      First, Democrats do bussings all over the country every big election, it's a fact. Second, please don't give them more ideas.

    8. Re:Democrats would never allow that by drsmithy · · Score: 1

      And if they are in remote locations and can't travel, how do they vote?

      Uhhh. Does the USA not have postal votes ?

    9. Re:Democrats would never allow that by bryan1945 · · Score: 1

      They do, which do not require showing an ID at a polling station.

      --
      Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
    10. Re:Democrats would never allow that by volmtech · · Score: 1

      How do the poor get their food stamps without ID? How do they get section 8 housing with ID? How do they get welfare without ID? Are there that many people who live completely off the grid that they could turn an election if registered? How do they even freaking REGISTER with ID?

  50. Let Obama fix the voting system like the economy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You may now laugh and then pause for a few moments realizing that you're affected by this mess, even if you're not in the US.

  51. Who forgot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's the economy, stupid.

    We can't fucking get congress to pay for shit they passed, you want more oversight?

    WTF country ARE you talking about?

    Look, you've got 2 options:
    Be an American and bicker about not doing the right things.
    Not be an American and complain that we're not doing thing right.

    You want to fix it? Elect a bunch of Conservative Democrats and Liberal Republicans. Otherwise, we're going to keep doing this for the next half-century.

  52. Mail in ballots by shentino · · Score: 1

    Just do completely mail based ballots.

    * It's convenient because people fill their ballots out in the comfort of their own home
    * It's more efficient because you don't need to open up poll booths
    * It's harder to stuff ballots because each person only gets one ballot in their mailbox
    * It's secure and confidential due to existing laws that already make theft, tampering, or interception of mail a federal offense

  53. reform = fraud, prove the fsck otherwise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Any reasonable individual with a common understanding KNOWS that voting reform would result in perpetual rule by the Democratic Party. This would be a good thing for those who think that they are entitled to someone else's money by reason of their membership in Homo sapiens sapiens. This would be terrible for the rest who believe in inherently bigoted concepts such as individual liberty, private property and voluntary exchange.

    --

    It's time to waste the mod points

  54. Fail? No - a success. by Catbeller · · Score: 1

    The e-voting systems are performing their function. Insiders at companies providing and maintaining the machines will tip elections into the Republicans' favor, if and when necessary, if the margins are razor thin and they can slip in techs to "fix" things. Or probably they don't need to do that anymore - they've had a decade to set the backdoors in place so they don't need to go in physically.

    (2008 was not necessary - they need Democratic Presidents to blame things on when they have their inevitable economic collapses. And since they won't let a Democrat actually *be* a President, by fillibustering every bill and refusing to seat his judicial appointments, it's not like a Democrat can do anything but take the blame for the extremely active Republican President who precedes him.)

    We are now living in the Republican permanent empire. And with "conservatives" in Canada running to "fix" their perfectly verifiable pencil-and-paper system with wonderful e-voting supersystems, Canada will be Harpered forever as well. It's good to be the magic genie behind the screen.

    Ireland did it right. Junk the cheatmatic magic voting boxes.

    Listen, if they can cheat, they ARE cheating. Their ethics are business ethics, ie none but winning at any cost.
     

  55. Lack of trust is an inherent problem by davidwr · · Score: 1

    With paper ballots, we have the 3 problems you mention. They can be addressed separately.

    With an non-audit-able election, we have the additional problem of a lack of faith in the votes themselves. EVEN ABSENT ANY FRAUD, if people don't trust the vote then we have a huge problem.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  56. The Robinson Method by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.paul-robinson.us/index.php/2008/10/25/the_robinson_method_a_really_simple_way_?blog=5

    Every time there is an article about the problems with voting fraud, on Slashdot, I post up this link, every time it's either ignored, or some douchebags try to find problems with it, that don't exist. Are you afraid of real democracy or something?

  57. The tech is not the problem.. by savuporo · · Score: 1

    Problem is not the technology used for voting, but the voting system itself. First-past-the-post has about the worst mathematical properties of any voting system, the voters are inevitable getting screwed.

    See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_system#Compliance_of_selected_systems_.28table.29

    Its unfair by design. Something like range voting would be much, much fairer, even though its not perfect either.

    --
    http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashdot.org Errors found while checking this document as HTML5!
  58. Cat got your tongue? (something important seems to by gumpish · · Score: 1

    You forgot to fix the system.

    Oops, my bad. I'll get right on that.

    Ass.

  59. Eliminates secrecy (within a household) by gumpish · · Score: 1

    But then others living in the same household can coerce someone to vote for particular candidates and verify that they have indeed done so.

    I know that some states use mail-in ballots extensively in spite of this fact... which I find suprising.

    1. Re:Eliminates secrecy (within a household) by shentino · · Score: 1

      Would you rather have that or would you rather have dirty tricks giving better machines to different districts?

      I think in this case the benefits outweigh the costs.

      And if you have someone in the household coercing you, your vote is pretty much already screwed anyway in the status quo, since you can be kept from voting at all.

  60. can we trust the current batch? by sorak · · Score: 1

    I have to say that with all the emphasis on "voter suppression" or "voter fraud prevention" this election, and the partisan BS that comes with the past few years, I don't know if I trust the current batch to change the system. We would need every provision and every aspect of the system to be monitored by at least one non-partisan non-profit third party with no political agenda.

      I think we would have an easier time finding a flock of benevolent mind-readers to remotely sense the majority of public opinion while riding through town on a pack of domesticated unicorns.

  61. US Voting problems by cdrguru · · Score: 1

    There are two very conflicting requirements for US voting - handicapped access and secret ballots. What they have tried to do with the current "electronic voting" machines is balance these two things and pretty much not considered anything else. I believe this is intentional and not because of a desired insecurity but because those two items are on the list from federal and state requirements - and nowhere do things like auditability or security appear on the list of requirements.

    Why can't the US just use paper ballots? Because they aren't handicapped-friendly. The US also has an issue with language - in many counties they have to print ballots in multiple languages as there is no such thing as an official language or languages for anywhere in the US today. After a bunch of lawsuits it pretty much means that you can go into a polling place and request a ballot in Klingon and they have to give you one or pay a huge fine. You can bet these counties want to have screens and not paper for ballots.

    Another problem is all voting in the US is handled at the county level. Some decisions are made at the state level, but not very many. This means that you can have the newest electronic machine in one county whereas the county 20 miles east is using a ScanTron system from the 1980s. I believe it was the Help America Vote Act which tried to push enough money into counties to get everyone using some kind of post-1980s technology but I do not know how well that worked.

    So, could auditability be handled with maintaining secret ballots? Maybe. Could auditability be put on the list of requirements for an "approved" voting machine at the federal level and force all states (and counties) to adopt such requirements? Probably. But the secret ballot requirement makes things tougher. You can pretty much forget any paper-based system for the US - it would not meet with requirements for handicapped access and there would be huge expenses in some counties for multiple languages. Not, Going. To. Happen.

    Can there be a "secure" electronic system that meets the current secrecy and handicapped access requirements? I'm sure it is possible, but it isn't any of the current systems and we aren't going to see it for a while.

  62. Voting is mostly useless now anyway by bryan1945 · · Score: 1

    With the way the 2 parties act- both trying to screw the average citizen, but in different ways- do you see any good changes coming? I still vote every year (yes every year, not just every 4), though, in the obscure hope that maybe someone I think can make things better will get elected.

    --
    Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
  63. Voting system doesn't matter since by NewYork · · Score: 1
  64. You people amaze me by DrStoooopid · · Score: 1

    ...we were given tools within the constitution to fix things legally, and also given protections when all legal means have failed; yet you're all content to accept the status quo and essentially give up and accept a flawed system......it's pathetic is what it is.

    "Oh boo hoo the system's broken and would be even if we fixed it."....our forefathers are spinning in their graves. Take the nation back from the tyrants or be content to live in chains.

    --
    There are 2 groups of people you can make fun of on the Internet without fear of attack. The illiterate, and the Amish.