ptalk > November 2002

Voting machines

A third world country decided to go democratic, turning to the USA for guidance. On a limited budget, they could only afford second-hand equipment and got some voting machines from the city of Chicago.

With great fanfare, they held their election, with Fyodor Guantanamo running against Kwame Santahara.

The winner was …
Richard J. Daley.

[From RISKS-FORUM Digest 22.38]

Scary...

"The sad fact is that the legitimacy of government in the United States will remain in question as long as over 98% of the vote is tabulated by machines that can be easily rigged, impossible to audit, and owned by a handful of private companies. Until we get rid of those voting machines, democracy in America may be a distant memory."

Lynne Landes

[From http://www.ecotalk.org/VotingSecurity.htm]