Beverly Hills Might Sue Over LA County's New Voting Machine Design

[diva77]

by Libby Denkmann in News on January 14, 2020 11:05 AM
https://laist.com/2020/01/14/beverly-hills-might-sue-over-los-angeles-voting-machines-ballot-marking-device-design.php

The Beverly Hills City Council has voted to move ahead with a possible lawsuit against election officials responsible for the new Los Angeles County voting equipment which will debut in the March 3 primary.

The new machines are digital, and there are concerns that voters will vote without seeing all the candidates.

Already there are huge changes in store for Angelenos voting in-person when vote centers start opening Feb. 22 — from where and when to vote to a new, high-tech way to cast a ballot.
SNIP
Councilmember Julian Gold, who's running for re-election, says the way the tablet computers on L.A.'s new devices display candidates in each race is "flawed" and could potentially change the outcome of important elections.

He and fellow city officials and staff got a preview of the ballot marking machines when the Beverly Hills City Clerk showed them photos a few weeks ago.

The issue? When a race appears on the ballot marking devices, only the first four candidates fit on the first screen. To see more choices, a voter has to hit a button marked "MORE" to choose from the next four contenders.

"But there's also a button that says 'NEXT,'" Gold said. "And if you hit 'NEXT' instead of 'MORE,' you're done, you move on to the next race." He called this a design flaw because a voter can skip ahead in the ballot without seeing the full list of candidates.
SNIP

[sprinkleeninow]

1. Who the?

How the?

What the?

[Blues Heron]

2. we have to get away fom this sick infatuation with screens and computers

low tech is the way, not high tech. Paper, pencils, observers, chain of custody etc. Not glamorous. But a lot harder to switch a vote than invisible electrons in a database somewhere. This is the butterfly ballot all over again.