Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/29/washington/29ballot.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5065&en=e0c8ab46eb7f870b&ex=1162789200&adxnnl=0&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1162123697-fGdgFeTtCKTTCxcnenqAsQ" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10 /29/washington/29ballot.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5065&en=e0c8ab46eb7f870b&ex=1162789200&adxnnl=0&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1162123697-fGdgFeTtCKTTCxcnenqAsQ</a> >>The federal government is investigating the takeover last year of a leading American manufacturer of electronic voting systems by a small software company that has been linked to the leftist Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chávez. The inquiry is focusing on the Venezuelan owners of the software company, the Smartmatic Corporation, and is trying to determine whether the government in Caracas has any control or influence over the firm’s operations, government officials and others familiar with the investigation said. The inquiry on the eve of the midterm elections is being conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or Cfius, the same panel of 12 government agencies that reviewed the abortive attempt by a company in Dubai to take over operations at six American ports earlier this year.<< Much more at the link... Alas, why do we NEED electronic machines... Why not make the Optical Scan Paper Ballot the standard, easy to use, the scanner at the precinct counts the ballots as they are fed into the ballot box, and you have a great paper trail for verification... Also no need to wait for an available machine, just find a place and fill in the ovals. Have a electronic machine to assist those folks who can't see, etc... but the machine just fills out a paper ballot, which is then fed into the scanner like any other ballot.
Originally Posted By JohnS1 I am against electronic ballots, punch card ballots and vote-at-home mail ballots. All encourage voter fraud. But most voting districts seem to have some sort of quota system which equates high turnout with a good election. And guess what happens when there is a close election using high-tech voting equipment? They recount by hand - the old fashioned way. Go figure.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://kcbs.com/pages/119123.php?contentType=4&contentId=234359" target="_blank">http://kcbs.com/pages/119123.p hp?contentType=4&contentId=234359</a> >>A button on the back of voting machines sold to Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and 18 other counties allows voters to cast more than one ballot. A spokeswoman for the Oakland-based company said the button is not a mistake, but allows poll workers to reset the machine should problems arise with the card activator. Voters would have to reach behind the machine, and pushing the yellow button triggers two loud beeps that poll workers would likely notice. That, in the eyes of Jesse Durazo, the Registrar of Voters for Santa Clara County, should be more than enough to allay fears by critics of electronic voting systems about the need for better security. Voters, he told KCBS, “would never have access to the back of the machine, and they would never have the time allowed to do the necessary maneuvers to place the machine into a manual mode, because they would just be too obvious. There would be sounds made as someone is trying to access the back of the machine.†He noted the machines have worked successfully, and apparently without tampering, since 2003. “We've not had any reported incident of somebody trying to get to the back of the machine. Voters are generally very respectful,†he said. “I cannot imagine that someone could make a conspiracy that voters would want to harm the election that way.†Signs on the machines indicate the legal penalties for tampering with the Sequoia devices, and Durazo said polls workers are trained to recognize suspicious behavior such as “someone at the machine lingering too long.†Sequoia is currently being investigated by the Treasury Department because the founders of its parent company, Smartmatic Corp., have ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Documents voluntarily submitted by the company on Monday indicate that only three of its 120 employees are not U.S. citizens. Sequoia’s CEO noted in a telephone news conference that the company does not actually conduct elections itself, meaning tampering or fraud would result from how an election is conducted at the polling place rather than from Sequoia employees. <<
