Recent Links

Felten on: How Computers Can Make Voting More Secure …
Subject says it all. Now that we’ve firmly established across the country that computers for voting, as applied today, is a bad idea, its time to start asking, "If technology isn’t going away, then how do we make it work?"
More: the full posting

Dare We Suggest: A Global War on Election Technology Glitches?
The U.S. isn’t the only country that suffers from close elections bedeviled by technology glitches. Scotland's Electoral Commission is undertaking a full review of its elections, with the electronic-counting process, ballot rejection and voting via mail all under scrutiny.
More: the full news article

Paying Twice: The Guilt Stops Here …
First, the Florida Legislature voted to spend nearly $28 million to scrap the ATM-styled machines used in 15 Florida counties, including Miami-Dade and Broward and replace them with ones that use paper ballots. Then, the U.S. Federal government subsequently agreed to foot the bill!
More: the full newspaper article and further reporting

In the Rush to Automate No System Escapes Flaws …
Polling place technology is not the only haven for technology problems. A $14 million Texas centralized voting-records system used by 224 counties has so many computer flaws that voter registration officials across the state want it scrapped.
More: the full newspaper article

Something We Can Agree On, Maybe …
California’s Secretary of State Debra Bowen has proposed for public review some draft standards to be used in a "top-to-bottom" review of voting systems in the state. Featuring extensive "Red Team security testing" and support for paper records, there is concern that these standards could lead to the decertification of practically all the voting machines currently in use in the state of California.
More: the home page for Bowen’s review effort