[EM] Re: touch screen voting machines

[David GLAUDE]

Eron Lloyd wrote:

> An interesting idea for sure. I think computer ballots would be a great way to 
> produce an error-free paper tally,

Why do you want error-free paper tally?

In Belgium when paper voting, I have the right to draw a little house or 
a mickey mouse (without beeing affraid of Disney corporation for 
copyright violation since my vote is anonymous). Of course my vote is 
not valid... but I expressed my fealing. This is important in a country 
where voting is mandatory.

In Belgium when e-voting (magnetic card), it is not possible to draw 
anything or vote in an invalid way. Actually you can only vote blanc 
(wich is technicaly the same but not from a psychological point of view).

> I think the biggest difference that "E-voting" has that makes it more 
> challenging than on-line banking or ATMs is that it has to remain fully 
> anonomous yet just as accountable and auditable as financial transactions. 
> While we don't want registered voters being associated with their votes, we 
> still need to make sure that indeed registered voters were the only ones 
> voting. Very challenging.

So challenging that I believe it is impossible.

I believe that when you vote and there is something (a computer) between 
my vote (in my mind) and the expression of my vote (the "recording" of 
my vote), then the secrecy of my vote is lost. I am forced to share my 
secret with the computer, the author of the program, ...

Even if they don't have my name and other information about me (that 
should be keeped completely separated with no way to correlate the data 
[not even by timestamping]) it is not my vote anymore... but our vote 
(shared with the author of the program) and not secret anymore.

> Interesting perspective. I'll take this in and process it for a while, and see 
> if I can draw out a workflow. The Internet verification would be *very* 
> tricky, however.

In some country, "dead can vote". This is hard to do since you need them 
to come to the pooling station to register and vote. But it exist.

With internet voting, it is a lot easyer to make our dead vote since 
they don't have to show up durring the election day and they can vote 
from where they are (in heaven I hope).

So think twice, when I go voting (physicaly) my ID is checked, my face 
is compare to the picture on my id card.

> As I mentioned above, there is *always* a problem using "black-box" 
> proprietary software, and hardware too.

And also using open source software writen in proprietary language with 
no reference open source implementation. The whole thing running on a 
proprietary operating system.

> Relying on voters to audit their votes is unacceptable,

Who else can audit their vote???
Expert? Whitness? Big Brother?

> That might just mean pen and paper for a long time.

PAPER RULES.

David GLAUDE
http://www.poureva.be/