[EM] Why We Shouldn't Count Votes with Machines

[Kathy Dopp]

 From: Dave Ketchum <davek at clarityconnect.com>
> Subject: Re: [EM] Why We Shouldn't Count Votes with Machines
>
> Regrettably James is making an incorrect analysis of the problem.

I believe that is a mischaracterization because James' prior email
simply cited some recent articles.

> BETTER to accept that computers are truly as dependable as their
> successful use elsewhere demonstrates,

So since computers work well for problems like banking where errors
are easily detected and corrected due to a lack of anonymity and paper
receipts and banking statements, then we should use computers for
anonymously deposited e-ballots where errors can be virtually
impossible to detect and even more impossible (if that were possible)
to correct?  Not good logic unless you think that we should
anonymously deposit our money into banks without any receipts or bank
statements and *trust* bankers blindly too.

Here are some recent articles on this topic (all these articles were I
believe published in August 2008):

AP & USA Today:  States throw out costly electronic voting machines
Aug. 19, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jej6XIWrQn6-gw5O5bJa1ELx78DgD92LK3E00
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jej6XIWrQn6-gw5O5bJa1ELx78DgD92LLDO00
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-19-electronic-voting_N.htm

Scientific American: Planning to E-Vote? Read This First, Aug. 18, 2008
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=electronic-election-day

CBS News: Voting Machine Doubts Linger, Aug. 16, 2008
Concerns Over Vulnerability Of Electronic Machines Sending Many States
Back To Paper Ballots
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/16/eveningnews/main4355733.shtml

NY Times: Officials Say Flaws at Polls Will Remain in November, Aug. 16, 2008
[NOTE: Officials in two states admit that their voting machines are
not accurately casting or counting votes]
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/us/politics/16vote.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/us/politics/16vote.html

Washington Post: Ohio Voting Machines Contained Programming Error That
Dropped Votes, Aug. 21, 2008 [Note: States like MD with paperless
voting cannot detect the errors in the vote counts via valid audits.
States like OH and UT can detect the dropped votes *if* they do valid
audits (Utah does not.)]
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/21/ohio_voting_machines_contained.html

Company acknowledges voting machine error, Aug. 21, 2008
http://www.ohio.com/news/ap?articleID=688274&c=y

Ohio's voting machine glitch exposed - Touch-screens can't be fixed
before election, Brunner says
Thursday,  August 21, 2008 8:34 PM
http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/08/21/voting_machines.html?sid=101

Did Washington waste millions on faulty voting machines? Aug 15, 2008
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/48508.html

Voting System Standards: All Form and No Substance, June 12, 2008
http://washburnsworld.blogspot.com/2008/06/voting-system-standards-all-form-and-no.html

States seek workarounds for e-voting systems
http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/803

How do you compare security across voting systems?
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1367
http://accurate-voting.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/risk-eval-final.pdf
http://www.josephhall.org/nqb2/index.php/2008/08/16/nakedeval

States rush to dump touch-screen voting systems, Aug. 21, 2008
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080820-states-rush-to-dump-touchscreen-voting-systems.html

Vote fraud, crumbling democracy's bedrock, Aug. 21, 2008
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20080822_Vote_fraud__crumbling_democracy_s_bedrock.html

Voting Machines Can Never Be Trusted Says GOP Computer Security Expert
http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=18097

VIDEOS:

Republican computer expert re need to have audited paper ballots
http://realhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/2008/08/republican-computer-expert-re-need-to.html

U-Tube UNCOUNTED CLIPS: WEEK 7: The Electronic Voting Machine Hokey
Pokey (You Put Your Right Vote In. It Spits Your Wrong Vote Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqsL-KNiYJ8

 DIEBOLD[/Premier] ADMITS TO MAJOR ACCURACY FLAWS, Aug. 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey2TrJvtGN8
and
Lou Dobbs: CNN - Democracy at Risk - A voting machine company admits
to software flaws in Ohio elections. Kitty Pilgrim reports.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/08/21/ldt.pilgrim.democracy.at.risk.cnn

Diebold/Premier Actually Admits Its Machines Are Faulty! And That It
Lied About Antivirus Software...
from the wonders-never-cease dept
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080822/0352532064.shtml

E-voting vendor: Programming errors caused dropped votes
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/082208-e-voting-vendor-programming-errors-caused.html

Vote-Dropping Software Bug Could Gum Up Elections
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Vote-Dropping-Software-Bug-Could-Gum-Up-Elections-64259.html

Company admits voting machine error
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-21-voting-machine_N.htm

Machines may have vote-dropping glitch
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/08/22/Machines_may_have_vote-dropping_glitch/UPI-88811219407988/

Sarasota County [Florida]- Sarasota told of new voting machine glitch
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080822/ARTICLE/310358&title=Sarasota_told_of_new_voting_machine_glitch

Cheers,

Kathy