Here is San Diego, the people counting the votes try and make the system not only count correctly but appear to count correctly.
They use an optical system to read ballots marked by the voter. Random batches (about 5% the last time I checked) are selected for hand verification. In other words, the hand count the votes and then check what the machine came up with.
Also for a small number of randomly selected precents, they hand count every vote. (All batches for all machines.)
All ballots are kept for a certain amount of time. If you want to question the count, there is a procedure where you can get a recount of just about anything you want to.
The ballot is the piece of paper. The machine helps count the ballots, but it's the paper that counts.
Now it is possible to tamper with a machine. If you don't change the vote too much you have a small chance of getting caught. Tamper with many machines and the chance of discovery increases.
So the counting process is fairly secure. Maybe not the best, but there are enough checks in the system to convince me that it's working.
The real problem is that there are no validation process perfomed on the voter. You can signup to vote in 50 different voting locations if you want. You could even sign up to vote usign 50 different names in the same location and the poll workers could not question your ablity to vote.
I could even get my three year old daughter a voter registeration and take her down to the polls. As long as I say that she's eighteen the poll workers can't question it. And if she votes absentee, they won't even get to see her, so she can learn to vote early.
A real problem here has been with people signing up large groups of people who cannot legally vote (illegal aliens for example) and getting them to turn out on election day.
Also there is the problem with corrupt election's officials "finding" enough absentee ballots to throw the election to their party. (See Washington State's governers race for example.)
Technology is not the problem. Checks and balances can be build into the system to detect any tampering with the machines. There are much bigger problems with other parts of the system.
Customer services job is to make the company money and to do nothing that might spoil that aim. As a result they do not have the ability or inclination to think or do the right thing. Your goal is to get away from those people as soon as possible.
There are two possible ways you can do this:
1. Small Claims
Write a nice letter to them (be very nice you'll want to show it in court later). Simply state that you have no record of contract which would give the permission to charge a cancellation fee. Ask them to supply you with a copy of the contract and information as to when it was entered into. Give them two weeks to reply.
If they reply with a signed contract containing an cancellation clause, your sunk. But I doubt this will ever happen. What they will most likely do is ignore your letter. Or they will send you a form letter that totally doesn't address your concerns.
At this point you file a small claims action against them. It's quick and probably doesn't cost very much money. The forms are not complex and the court clerks will help you out if you need. The small claims court is designed for the little guy who can't afford a lawyer.
After you file you case you'll get a call from some low level person in the legal department. These people have different goals than the customer service department. Their job is to make the problem go away and if you're asking for something reasonable they even have the power to spend some of the company's money to do it.
At this point you're done.
If you do have to go to court, then the judge will see your parents, (a couple of elderly people on their own) against a very stupid and tricky corporation. You'll probably win.
2. The regulators
Find out who regulates the company. Find out the address of the department that handles consumer complaints. Write to the regulators a nice factual complaint letter.
Find out the name of the president or vice president of the company. CC the letter to him.
I can assure you that the people who deal with the regulators have a completely differnet mind set than customer service. They want problems to go away before the government gets involved.
Now what the regulators tend to do is send a letter to the company, saying "We got this complaint, what's your side of it?" The company really really wants to be able to say, "We solved that already." So the copy of the letter you send to the company will receive action.
I once wrote to the FTC complaining about a credit card company. I got a letter from the company stating:
1. The problem has been taken care of.
2. You owe us no money.
3. Nothing about this incident has been reported to the credit rating people.
4. Please tell the FTC that everything is OK.
Got a letter from the FTC too. It said I had written to the wrong agency. (Should have written to the Comtroller of the Currancy.)
Bottom line: I had people call me and demand payment on a bill I've had no record of. They asked "When can we expect a payment on this past due bill?"
My answer, "When you get a judge in the County of San Diego to tell me I must pay it!"
Note: If they say something like, "You really should pay your bills on time so as to not damage your credit rating," then that warrants a call to the Secret Service (American law enforcement agency which handles wire fraud.)
"This company called me up and told me that I had to pay $60.00 which I don't owe them or they will wreck my credit rating. Isn't that extortion?"
As long as you've not paid them you're in the driver's seat. The two major things to remember are be calm and reasonable (if nothing else it drives the other side nuts) and don't send money.
I once talked to a vendor that sold 8mm tape drives, but hadn't gotten around to selling the new (at the time) 4mm tape drives.
He told me that the 8mm drives were better because you could compress the data on an 8mm tape drive, but couldn't do that on a 4mm drive because the bits were too small.
Slashdot Mirror
Here is San Diego, the people counting the votes try and make the system
not only count correctly but appear to count correctly.
They use an optical system to read ballots marked by the voter.
Random batches (about 5% the last time I checked) are selected
for hand verification. In other words, the hand count the votes
and then check what the machine came up with.
Also for a small number of randomly selected precents, they hand
count every vote. (All batches for all machines.)
All ballots are kept for a certain amount of time. If you want to
question the count, there is a procedure where you can get a
recount of just about anything you want to.
The ballot is the piece of paper. The machine helps count the ballots,
but it's the paper that counts.
Now it is possible to tamper with a machine. If you don't change the vote
too much you have a small chance of getting caught. Tamper with many machines
and the chance of discovery increases.
So the counting process is fairly secure. Maybe not the best, but there are enough
checks in the system to convince me that it's working.
The real problem is that there are no validation process perfomed on the voter.
You can signup to vote in 50 different voting locations if you want. You could
even sign up to vote usign 50 different names in the same location and the poll workers
could not question your ablity to vote.
I could even get my three year old daughter a voter registeration and take her down
to the polls. As long as I say that she's eighteen the poll workers can't question it.
And if she votes absentee, they won't even get to see her, so she can learn to vote early.
A real problem here has been with people signing up large groups of people who cannot legally
vote (illegal aliens for example) and getting them to turn out on election day.
Also there is the problem with corrupt election's officials "finding" enough absentee ballots
to throw the election to their party. (See Washington State's governers race for example.)
Technology is not the problem. Checks and balances can be build into the system to detect
any tampering with the machines. There are much bigger problems with other parts of the system.
Customer services job is to make the company money and to do nothing that might spoil that aim. As a result
they do not have the ability or inclination to think or do the right thing. Your goal is to get away from
those people as soon as possible.
There are two possible ways you can do this:
1. Small Claims
Write a nice letter to them (be very nice you'll want to show it in court later). Simply state
that you have no record of contract which would give the permission to charge a cancellation fee.
Ask them to supply you with a copy of the contract and information as to when it was entered
into. Give them two weeks to reply.
If they reply with a signed contract containing an cancellation clause, your sunk. But I doubt this will ever happen.
What they will most likely do is ignore your letter. Or they will send you a form letter that totally doesn't address
your concerns.
At this point you file a small claims action against them. It's quick and probably doesn't cost very much money.
The forms are not complex and the court clerks will help you out if you need. The small claims court is designed
for the little guy who can't afford a lawyer.
After you file you case you'll get a call from some low level person in the legal department. These people have different
goals than the customer service department. Their job is to make the problem go away and if you're asking for something
reasonable they even have the power to spend some of the company's money to do it.
At this point you're done.
If you do have to go to court, then the judge will see your parents, (a couple of elderly people on their own) against a very
stupid and tricky corporation. You'll probably win.
2. The regulators
Find out who regulates the company. Find out the address of the department that handles consumer complaints. Write to the
regulators a nice factual complaint letter.
Find out the name of the president or vice president of the company. CC the letter to him.
I can assure you that the people who deal with the regulators have a completely differnet mind set than customer service.
They want problems to go away before the government gets involved.
Now what the regulators tend to do is send a letter to the company, saying "We got this complaint, what's your side of it?"
The company really really wants to be able to say, "We solved that already." So the copy of the letter you send to the
company will receive action.
I once wrote to the FTC complaining about a credit card company. I got a letter from the company stating:
1. The problem has been taken care of.
2. You owe us no money.
3. Nothing about this incident has been reported to the credit rating people.
4. Please tell the FTC that everything is OK.
Got a letter from the FTC too. It said I had written to the wrong agency. (Should have written to the Comtroller of the Currancy.)
Bottom line: I had people call me and demand payment on a bill I've had no record of. They asked "When can we expect
a payment on this past due bill?"
My answer, "When you get a judge in the County of San Diego to tell me I must pay it!"
Note: If they say something like, "You really should pay your bills on time so as to not damage your credit rating," then
that warrants a call to the Secret Service (American law enforcement agency which handles wire fraud.)
"This company called me up and told me that I had to pay $60.00 which I don't owe them or they will wreck my credit rating.
Isn't that extortion?"
As long as you've not paid them you're in the driver's seat. The two major things to remember are be calm and reasonable (if nothing else
it drives the other side nuts) and don't send money.
I once talked to a vendor that sold 8mm tape
drives, but hadn't gotten around to selling
the new (at the time) 4mm tape drives.
He told me that the 8mm drives were better
because you could compress the data on an
8mm tape drive, but couldn't do that on a 4mm
drive because the bits were too small.