In a real democracy the outcome of elections is determined by the intention of the voters not by software flaws or mechanical failures.
It's been 8 years since we last elected a president. At this weeks CFP it became clear that there are substantial entrenched interests that value efficiency and profit above the integrity of our elections.
At CFP I heard people who certify voting systems and elections officials claim that paper, whether in the form of voter verifiable audit trails or in the form of actual ballots, are too hard to process. I heard others make false claims that paper trails are somehow inconsistent with voting systems that may be used by those who have physical impairments.
Contrast those claims with an article that appeared in the March 2004 issue of the Atlantic Monthly: How Jefferson Counted Himself In. Even after 203 years, the authors were still able to examine the actual paper ballots that were cast in the electoral college in the presidential election of 1800.
Elections are not for the convenience of election officials nor are they for the profit of voting machine companies. Democracy is priceless.
Please support Open Voting and Voter Verified ballots:
Posted by karl at April 25, 2004 2:27 PM