Every political and cultural institution, every
political process...You really should read Orwell
again, we have all lived with the symboly of "1984"
and the metaphor of "1984" foe so long that we think
we understand it fully...The mind-bending,
fact-twisting, world-morping, will-weakening,
soul-deadening that Orwell wrote about is happening
here and now, not metaphorically, but for real...
Madison Capital Times: "Concerns about tampering surfaced after the 2002 elections when several places that use the new electronic equipment experienced remarkable upsets over what the pre-election polls had been predicting. In Georgia, for example, the voting showed a swing of up to 16 points from the last polling results. "
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1124-05.htm
Published on Monday, November 24, 2003 by the
Madison Capital Times (Wisconsin)
Touch-Screen Voting Isn't the Answer
by Dave Zweifel
Those modern "touch-screen" voting machines that were
to be a panacea for eliminating voting problems such
as the ones that occurred in Florida in 2000 are
beginning to look like a bigger problem themselves.
The machines are supposed to eliminate all the
disadvantages of paper and punch-card ballots,
disadvantages like hanging chads and confusing ballot
lineups that have, in effect, disenfranchised voters
throughout the country. But the system of allowing
voters to touch a computer screen in the box of their
favorite candidate eliminates any "paper trail" that
could be used to check the accuracy of the voting
tabulation.
The fact that several of the executives of the firms
who manufacture the newfangled machines are closely
linked with Republican politicians and President Bush,
in particular, has fed suspicion, especially since
several computer experts have shown that the software
for the machines isn't foolproof and can be tampered
with. It didn't help that the CEO of the major
touch-screen manufacturer, Diebold, is a prolific
campaign contributor to Bush and has publicly
committed to "delivering" the state of Ohio to him in
the 2004 election.
Add all that to a spotty record in places the machines
are in place and election officials are starting to
say "whoa."
Both Democrats and Republicans in Fairfax County, Va.,
claim that many votes weren't counted by the new
high-tech machines in an election this past Nov. 4.
The county had installed 1,000 of the expensive
machines, which were supposed to simplify tallying the
results. Some claim dozens of the machines didn't work
correctly.
It also hasn't helped that the manufacturers of the
machines insist on keeping secret the technology used
for their system, a stance that has been upheld by
several courts. But the secrecy means that if
tampering does occur, there is no way to discover it.
And when computer buffs demonstrated that they could
tamper with the software, Diebold filed "cease and
desist" orders against them.
Concerns about tampering surfaced after the 2002
elections when several places that use the new
electronic equipment experienced remarkable upsets
over what the pre-election polls had been predicting.
In Georgia, for example, the voting showed a swing of
up to 16 points from the last polling results.
Here in Wisconsin, Rep. Mark Pocan of Madison and
state Sen. Jeff Plale of South Milwaukee are
sponsoring a bill that would ban touch-screen voting
here until it is proven the machines are accurate and
fair.
Wisconsin's Green Party, like all third parties
concerned that the system could be rigged to eliminate
them, has weighed in on the measure.
"In order to be sure that the machines are
satisfactory ... the voting machine software program
should be 'open source,' open for all to examine,"
wrote the Greens' Ruth Weill.
Wisconsin's election rules currently limit electronic
voting systems to optical scanning equipment, which
does have a paper backup to check the counts. That's
as it should remain for now.
Paperless touch-screen technology isn't reliable
enough and is too full of conflicts of interest among
its manufacturers to be trusted with our democracy.
Copyright 2003 The Capital Times
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