EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Pete Nicholls
Organization : | N/A
Post Date : | 9/30/2005
General Comments
Comment : | Subject electronic machines are hackable, period. Hi, I'm a very concerned citizen who happens to know a thing or two about computer hardware, encryption and even a bit about programming. I've written programs, built computers, taken them apart and rebuilt them again. One thing I know for sure is that no system is 100% secure and any digital system is less-so. Paper trails may seem like a solution but they aren't. Here's why: You tell an electronic ballot machine you want to vote for Joe Blow. It spits out a piece of paper that says you've voted for Joe Blow, meanwhile, it records that you voted for Joe Blow's opponent. An electronic machine could easily be programmed to function as I describe above. It could even be programmed to function as I describe some of the time or only after Joe Blow's opponent gets X number of votes behind Joe Blow. With computers, you can essentially fake anything and this can all be done without anyone being able to spot the nefarious code. I know it sounds absurd, but the safest, most secure way to hold elections is with a piece of paper with the candidate's name written on it by the voter. Obviously, that's incredibly cumbersome, but punch cards are at least more secure than *any* electronic machine. The only time punch cards are confusing to the voter is when they are intentionally made to be confusing, by using a design like the infamous butterfly ballot. If such obvious design flaws are simply attended to by election officials, then confusion over something as simple as poking a little hole where you are supposed to can be completely removed. Please reconsider the path to electronic ballot boxes. As I've explained above, you just can't assume they're programmed properly. This is the will of the American people we're talking about here that can be usurped by a single unscrupulous programmer. Please don't ask us to trust individuals to have that much power and to resist taking advantage of it. Please say NO to ALL ELECTRONIC BALLOT BOXES.