Flutterby™! : Aaron's Georgia Voting Rant 2009-10-18 11:24:13.603134+00

Aaron's Georgia Voting Rant

2009-10-18 11:24:13.603134+00 by meuon 2 comments

On the ALE List, Aaron is a well respected zealot. Especially about electronic voting systems. It's a long rant, well summarized in one quote:

"In essence, the judges of the Georgia Supreme court have now ruled that no Georgia citizen can challenge the legality and constitutionality of a voting system that produces no evidence and provides no accountability because the voting system produces no evidence and provides no accountability which would show just cause for a legal challenge."

More issues on VoteGA.org, many other states have similiar issues.

It's a real problem if we are to maintain the perception that we are a representative democracy. I can think of low-tech (back to paper ballots), extra step ("vote" again with an outside auditing agency[do you remember who you voted for dog catcher?]), and high tech (digital keys) solutions with printed receipts (hmm,. paper again, eh?). But none really work better than counting chad laden paper ballots or electronically scanned paper ballots.

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." Josef Stalin

Georgia was the last hold out against programmable and electronic voting machines. But it is not only computerized voting machines that are the problem. Internet voting and mail in ballots, which most if not all states are pursuing, are completing the rout.

The German equivalent of the US Supreme Court has declared that Electronic Voting is unconstitutional. For the reason that such voting is unreliable, and not subject to viable auditing.