Will your votes count in 2006?

[mrhnau]

This video, from Marty Kaplan at the Huffpost, is terribly interesting.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/how-to-hack-a-diebold-vot_b_26301.html

humorous

 

[michaeledward]

The voting machines, paper or electronic aren't corrupt... it's the humans that are. Until there is a good soild foolproof way to ensure that there are HONEST people counting HONEST ballots/votes the system will always have some form (however large or small) throwing a wrench in the works.


Never felt right about those dead people voting in Florida.

I know there are several threads wherein, 'Dead People Voting' is mentioned. I was always a bit skeptical of the claim. The one anectdote I had heard, once, was about a wife who died in late October, and the husband filled in her absentee ballot and submitted it; voting for the people he knew she wanted to vote for.

I tripped over this article this morning. The author of this article says that the story is greatly overblown in an attempt to get a headline, and spreads amongst bloggers in an even more overblown manner.

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/vote_fraud_/2006/10/voter_fraud_fraud.php

In most cases, instances of dead voters can be attributed to database mismatches and clerical errors. For instance, the Social Security Administration admits there are people in its master death index who are not dead.
They include Wappingers Falls resident Hilde Stafford, an 85-year-old native of Germany. The master index lists her date of death as June 15, 1997.

"I'm still alive," she said. "I still vote."

There is a dramatic shortage of poll workers. Perhaps that something we can all do that will be beneficial.


P.S. My paper-ballot, absentee ballot, was mailed to the city clerks office this morning. Be certain to vote.

 

[michaeledward]

I also just found this article ...

Here, the issue is not dead people voting, but live peoples votes not matching their intentions.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/15869924.htm

Debra A. Reed voted with her boss on Wednesday at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale. Her vote went smoothly, but boss Gary Rudolf called her over to look at what was happening on his machine. He touched the screen for gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, a Democrat, but the review screen repeatedly registered the Republican, Charlie Crist.
That's exactly the kind of problem that sends conspiracy theorists into high gear -- especially in South Florida, where a history of problems at the polls have made voters particularly skittish.
A poll worker then helped Rudolf, but it took three tries to get it right, Reed said.

Hmmm ...

 

[Bob Hubbard]

The Diebold machines are incredibly flaky, the company very nervous about anyone inspecting them, and the owner is a very public supporter of Bush, who stated prior to the 2004 election that it would be his companies pleasure to give the election to Dubya. Stuff like that does not give people confidence.

Personally, I don't think the vote matters much now, and by 2008 won't at all.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Glitches Cited In Early Florida Voting
http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=16480

Some interesting commentary there.

Interesting comment:
"In Maryland it's now legal to request an absentee ballot without being out of state election day, as a mitigation of distrust in Diebold machines there. More than double the usual number of paper ballot requests have been made in MD."

I've heard that in NY write in and paper ballots aren't even counted unless it's a close election. Don't know how true that is, but if it is.....

 

[zDom]

Think its that difficult to have dead people vote? felons vote? hide/stuff ballots?

I'm sure we'll get plenty of that in St. Louis.. AGAIN.

 

[matt.m]

I'm sure we'll get plenty of that in St. Louis.. AGAIN.

Hey in St. L were good for nonsense like that.

 

[TonyMac]

I'll be using an absentee ballot.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

We here in Florida have problems...

.

[obvious joke]Yeah that whole thing where you held the '04 election hostage till we stopped sending you our old people was uncool [/obvious joke]

 

[Touch Of Death]

I say we give felons the right to vote. If they fall within a certain demographic they probably would bother anyway.
sean

 

[michaeledward]

Hacking Democracy is on right now on HBO.

It probably won't get as many eyeballs as the Saddam verdict on Sunday - timed nicely for Bush, eh? Nor will it get as many eyeballs as the Fox News program - airing 5 times this weekend - Obsession.

Watch this program. It's scary.

 

[Makalakumu]

Here is some more information that will make you question...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3555094491715905699&q=Electronic+Voting&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5173816754727816515&q=Electronic+Voting&hl=en