Violence... The story so far

Editorial

Electronic voting is here in many precincts. Is it safe? Probably not in Florida, maybe not safe anywhere. No less than six voting procedures are used in America today. Some are much better than others, but none is foolproof.

It seems to us that even after all software and hardware precautions have been taken, that unless we see and approve by signature a printout of our vote as we entered it before leaving the voting booth, we cannot be sure our vote was properly counted. Even then, the system would have to have a method for auditing the paper and electronic results without compromising privacy.

Is that even possible? We fear not. These complexities jar one's thinking.

Can we make Voting Bulletproof and evenhanded?

Easier said than done, we must say. While we have faith in free market systems to solve this problem, it has not come close yet. The reason is that it is as much a steal-the-vote market as an economic one.

The October 2004 issue of Scientific American has several suggestions which we add to, use and/or paraphrase in part:

• a simple registration system open to all of legal age and otherwise qualified to vote. Voter lists must be secure and auditable by voters and each concerned political party.
• Prevent gerrymandering anywhere and everywhere by national law.
• Do away with the electoral college; it has never worked as the Founding Fathers intended; harm to the democratic system arises when voters are basically unequal, which the Electoral College ensures.
• Election officials must understand the equipment and procedures employed under their responsibility. Each voting machine must be tested for accurate operation just prior to voting on election day.
• Election officials must adhere to procedures that enhance security against fraud. Precinct workers must be trained to perform all voting and vote count functions accurately.
• Every step of the voting process must be resistant to tampering. Each operation must be accompanied by documentation, check off lists and the like.
• Each step in the voting process must be clear and accessible, allow for voter feedback.
• Ballots must meet usability and countability standards.
• The government must invest in secure voting technologies.
• Standards of ethics must be set for all precinct workers as well as the election officials.

Even after all this, there are still chinks in the armor against voter fraud. For example, even if a paper audit trail exists, does that securely verify that each voter's vote was properly counted in the precinct results? Of course not. What happens electronically after the vote is still not subject to foolproof audit. Potential for massive fraud still exists, and it could be difficult or impossible to prove.

Have you ever found a person you could trust who says, "Trust me?" Trust is something that can only be earned over time by trustworthy behavior. The "trust-me" type wants your trust without having to earn it. So do you trust him/her or not? How may politicians have actually earned your full trust?

Meanwhile we are stuck with six archaic means to record votes as the stakes creep ever higher.

See links below for problems and more.

2000 Presidential Election Fraud

• 2000 Presidential Election Fraud
• A better Ballot Box
• Computerized Election Fraud
• Election Fraud 2002
• Fraud Scandal Looms
• Open Invitation to Election Fraud
• Quietly Florida Admits 2000 Election Fraud

If all this does not give you pause it should.

What the government can do is give a prize of $10,000,000, or even much more, to a company or individual that can come up with a bulletproof ballot box. That company or individual might then be awarded patent protection the world over with a royalty-free license to US users while being allowed to sell their invention to foreign nations.

Would the current crop of politicians buy into this? Not likely as many, possibly most of them, have engaged in shady election practices if not outright fraud to win elections. And we, the American electorate, let them get away with it.

Nevertheless, we believe that if we put our minds to it, a simple and foolproof system can be available nation-wide for the 2006 election. The legitimacy or our government will continue to be questioned until we can effect such a procedure. The full support of the people, Congress and the President could make it happen.