In light of all the discussion about whether or not we should gut or delay the Voter Confidence Act – the almost unanimously agreed upon election reform bill that would, among other democracy-loving mandates, require Tennesseans to vote on paper – we need to remember why we needed election reform in the state in the first place.
Paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machines, also knownn as DREs, suck and 93 out of 95 counties in Tennessee currently use them.
Paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machines are not secure and unreliable.
They flip votes (the machines used in the West Virginia counties where flipping occurred are the same ones used in Davidson County). And whether the vote flipping problems are caused by “buggy” software created by inept programmers or malicious source code doesn’t matter. And besides, we wouldn’t be able to discern the reason because…
The software used in the machines is hidden from us. There is no public scrutiny of the code that counts the votes, which violates the “vote in private, count in public” axiom.
Paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machines do not allow for any type of meaningful recount. (just ask Tim Barnes).
Paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machines totals can be manipulated in the source code, by introducing virus in one of the un-secure data ports, or by good ol’ fashioned Kentucky-style vote-fixin’.
When a paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machine crashes or malfunctions, as computers are prone to do, votes can be irretrievably lost.
When you vote on paperless unverifiable touch-screen voting machines there is no guarantee that your vote will be counted, let alone counted as cast.
As the reasons for delaying the implementation of the Voter Confidence Act pile up, we must keep in mind our ultimate goal – free, fair, and trustworthy elections.
[...] with Mark Goins, Tennessee’s Election Coordinator, who says he is comfortable with the paperless electronic voting machines Tennesseans use to vote in 93 out of 95 [...]
[...] the year 2000, and Microvote, the company that provides paperless electronic voting machines to more than 45 counties in Tennessee, describes the miracle that is their products’ [...]
[...] Tennessee Voter Confidence Act – which was supported almost unanimously in the House and Senate and signed by an enthusiastic Governor Bredesen in 2008 – would have given Tennessee voter the [...]
[...] Tennessee Voter Confidence Act – which was supported almost unanimously in the House and Senate and signed by an enthusiastic Governor Bredesen in 2008 – would have given Tennessee voter the [...]
[...] machines we vote on in 93 out of 95 counties in Tennessee fail on every level. Why do you trust your vote to [...]
[...] Tennessee Voter Confidence Act lives to fight another day. And that day will probably include more obstacles from the Secretary of [...]
[...] for the year without passing HB0614/SB0872 – the bill that would have delayed implementation of the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act (TVCA – the paper ballot [...]
[...] when there is a close election. Crazy, I know. For those of us in Tennessee who can only vote on electronic black boxes with secret vote counting (flipping?) software, the Franken victory seems [...]
[...] on this post from Jersey Joe of Shelby County offer more evidence why unverifiable electronic voting machines suck and what problems we could face if we use them in 2010: You are correct. The 2005 voluntary [...]
[...] is a Close Election? Comments on this post from Jersey Joe of Shelby County offer more evidence why unverifiable electronic voting machines suck and what problems we could face if we use them in 2010: You are correct. The 2005 voluntary [...]
[...] the year 2000 (almost 10 years ago!), Microvote, the company that provides paperless electronic voting machines to two of the counties that make up District 62, Bedford and Rutherford, described the [...]
[...] the year 2000 (almost 10 years ago!), Microvote, the company that provides paperless electronic voting machines to two of the counties that make up District 62, Bedford and Rutherford, described the [...]