Comments on: Obama lawyers defend ‘vote fraud’ efforts http://minnesotaindependent.com/16050/obama-lawyers-defend-%e2%80%98vote-fraud%e2%80%99-efforts News. Politics. Media. Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:48:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Grady http://minnesotaindependent.com/16050/obama-lawyers-defend-%e2%80%98vote-fraud%e2%80%99-efforts/comment-page-1#comment-16944 Grady Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:55:47 +0000 http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=16050#comment-16944 My wife and two co-workers are among the thousands of people working in polling places today. As long as the entire process is designed to minimize the possibility of tampering, manipulation or fraud, voters should have full confidence in the system. Electronic systems could be designed to tally votes. However, it's extremely difficult to insure the same level of reliability as we have with legacy systems. If election commissions need to have paper ballots printed as a backup for their machines, that suggests the technology isn't sufficiently reliable. There also needs to be a reliable audit trail and provisions for write-ins and manual recount or verification. Since the equipment must be stored between elections, set up and checked before the election and then collected and stored afterward, it needs to be durable. And it needs to be cost-effective. Local governments can't afford to buy expensive systems that might be obsolete before the next election. Stick with proven systems, until all the bugs are worked out. My wife and two co-workers are among the thousands of people working in polling places today. As long as the entire process is designed to minimize the possibility of tampering, manipulation or fraud, voters should have full confidence in the system. Electronic systems could be designed to tally votes. However, it’s extremely difficult to insure the same level of reliability as we have with legacy systems. If election commissions need to have paper ballots printed as a backup for their machines, that suggests the technology isn’t sufficiently reliable. There also needs to be a reliable audit trail and provisions for write-ins and manual recount or verification.
Since the equipment must be stored between elections, set up and checked before the election and then collected and stored afterward, it needs to be durable. And it needs to be cost-effective.
Local governments can’t afford to buy expensive systems that might be obsolete before the next election. Stick with proven systems, until all the bugs are worked out.

]]> By: Brandon http://minnesotaindependent.com/16050/obama-lawyers-defend-%e2%80%98vote-fraud%e2%80%99-efforts/comment-page-1#comment-16934 Brandon Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:56:09 +0000 http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=16050#comment-16934 I can maybe accept Ohio going for McCain or even a Pennsylvania flip for McCain with Obama leading by 10 points or more in the polls (just look at the primary polling and what Murtha said), but if Obama some how loses Colorado, I'll be pretty confident that the fix is in and my level of frustration is likely to express itself in tangible ways. I just hope there are officials watching all aspect of this from voting machines to tally reporting. As what is the point of having protection of the voting at the polls, when somebody can just change the tallies after the fact when reporting them. Watch this... kind of scary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIDsiukzfIY I can maybe accept Ohio going for McCain or even a Pennsylvania flip for McCain with Obama leading by 10 points or more in the polls (just look at the primary polling and what Murtha said), but if Obama some how loses Colorado, I’ll be pretty confident that the fix is in and my level of frustration is likely to express itself in tangible ways. I just hope there are officials watching all aspect of this from voting machines to tally reporting. As what is the point of having protection of the voting at the polls, when somebody can just change the tallies after the fact when reporting them.

Watch this… kind of scary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIDsiukzfIY

]]> By: Lori L http://minnesotaindependent.com/16050/obama-lawyers-defend-%e2%80%98vote-fraud%e2%80%99-efforts/comment-page-1#comment-16929 Lori L Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:31:29 +0000 http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=16050#comment-16929 Here is a phrase that will gain prominence once the manipulation of the vote through hacking is exposed: ELECTION FORENSICS. Developed recently, it is a way of determining whether the vote has been distorted based upon statistics and fine scientific tools. One way or the other, it isn't a question of whether voting machines have been hacked, but how much and when. It's time to get voting out of the hands of private, partisan individuals and corporations. Otherwise, democracy is just a word in quotes. Here is a phrase that will gain prominence once the manipulation of the vote through hacking is exposed: ELECTION FORENSICS. Developed recently, it is a way of determining whether the vote has been distorted based upon statistics and fine scientific tools.

One way or the other, it isn’t a question of whether voting machines have been hacked, but how much and when. It’s time to get voting out of the hands of private, partisan individuals and corporations. Otherwise, democracy is just a word in quotes.

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