Danaher and all the problems that come with them! They especially need to know how bad paperless machines are!
Background: Pittsburgh PA activists are working with the Allegheny County Board of Elections to prevent them from throwing their HAVA money away on paperless Diebold (and possibly ES&S or Danaher) machines.
The Board is trying to work with the activists and support the resolutions for VVPR that have passed the Pittsburgh City Council and the Allegheny County Council.
The activists are working for precinct-count optical scan, or AccuPoll which is going to make a special presentation to their meeting on Tuesday.
THEN, TODAY COMES THIS EDITORIAL IN THE POST-GAZETTE (our so-called "liberal" paper.) Obviously they don't have a clue how serious this is.
Please DU, read the article and then help us educate the Post-Gazette -- with everything we can send them!
--------------------------------------
Editorial: Vote on the voting / The county needs to make a difficult choice Friday, February 03, 2006 -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06034/649114.stm (SNIP)
When the elections board meets Tuesday, it may have to face the fact that it can't please some of the activists, at least as far as voter verification is concerned. None of the machines certified in Pennsylvania has an active voter verification component. Indeed, the system that Allegheny County is seriously considering -- Diebold Inc.'s Accu-Vote-TSX -- could come with a printer that records votes, but to be certified in Pennsylvania the printer has to be deactivated. (In order to prevent hacking, another condition is that the system can't be connected to a modem or network interface, including the Internet.)
(SNIP)
Allegheny County can't wait for the Legislature to pass a law requiring voter verification, even if it could be done in a constitutional way. At the same time, it shouldn't be rushed into picking the Diebold system if it has serious qualms about its efficiency (Diebold is the only vendor said to be able to deliver its machines in time for the May primary.)
The remedy may be to make a good-faith effort. Pick the best touch-screen system (Philadelphia has chosen the Damaher system) and trust that federal officials can mitigate the threat of losing federal funding if the machines are not installed in time. We can't suggest a specific preference for the county -- just the most reliable system available and one with a guarantee for fixing problems if they should arise.
Computers are routinely used in all walks of life, including critical matters involving health care and in recording infinitely complicated financial dealings. As important as voting is, as reassuring as a piece of paper might be, Allegheny County should not be deterred from pressing boldly ahead.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
