Abbey, Amelia, Holly and Bruce

In our town, voting is quite simple; it’s a form that looks like any standardized test form, where you simply fill in a bubble of your choice. No hanging chads, no Windows computer meltdowns, no complicated procedures. Fill in the bubble next to the candidate of your choice, and you feed it into an optical scanning machine. Done. Simple. So, why do the swing states have to complicate things with computers? I work with computers all day, and the first thing I do when I write a program, or a script to solve a system administration issue, is to use “occam’s razor” or “All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.” Sounds simple, right? Ask the people of Ohio, which looks again to be the state that may decide the outcome of this years election for President.

These problems need to be laid out now, for all the American people to know about. Not when the election is over, and people a slapping their foreheads in a mea culpa outrage. We know these problems still exist, now lets let it be know to everyone, and have a solution to these problems BEFORE the election!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/18/voting.problems/index.html?iref=werecommend Read more…

http://techdirt.com/articles/20080404/085851751.shtml

You know, the solution to all these electronic voting issues is simple; use Open Source software, so the code can be reviewed by anyone who wants to or understands computer languages. Personally, I will not use any encryption software that is not open source, because how do you know if the software has a “back door” if the source is closed? (You don’t, and you can’t know). The same is true with e-voting software. Unless this software is opened up for the world to review, it is worthless. It could be filled with discrepancies, either intentional or not. The only way to know what the program is actually doing, is the open it up for all to see.

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This kind of news, really doesn’t make the mainstream news too often. Nobody has died, no sex scandal has taken place, and there wasn’t a terrorist attack. So, why should it be news? Well, it is the foundation of our democracy, and if we cannot even reliably cast a vote, then nothing else really matters.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/16/BOEPROBE.ART_ART_03-16-08_B1_9F9LIV3.html?sid=101

Please read it, and send it to someone else.

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