Election Fix Stymied by Cash Delays, Computer Doubts and Confidence Gap

[TacticalPeek]

Mar 20, 2004

Election Fix Stymied by Cash Delays, Computer Doubts and Confidence Gap

The Associated Press

EDITOR'S NOTE - Problems with the election system in Florida left the winner of the 2000 presidential race in doubt for more than a month, and prompted widespread calls to reform the way the nation elects its leaders. Yet nearly four years since George W. Bush won in Florida by 537 votes, reform has been spotty. This story is part of the AP's ongoing coverage of electoral problems across the country.

By ROBERT TANNER

AP National Writer

The discord of Florida 2000 is hard to forget. Angry crowds yelling at local election officials, a paralysis that virtually halted other political work, accusations of a stolen presidential election that echo today.

But the many promises that followed the 36-day stalemate have not produced a nationwide solution to the glaring flaws exposed in the way we cast votes and count them - and another presidential election is just months away.

There's blame enough to go around. Pick any of the following, or all: President Bush and Congress; the voting machine industry; local election officials. (You can add computer scientists, the media, even mistake-prone voters.)

It's true some changes have been made: Roughly 50 million registered voters, or slightly more than a quarter nationwide, will be able to cast ballots on the latest touchscreen equipment this year.

But that leaves the glass half-full, at best, especially with the biggest reforms so far now coming in for criticism. In particular, those ATM-style electronic voting machines - once trumpeted as the solution to voting problems - are now under fire from some computer scientists and lawmakers. That, in turn, is slowing further reforms and weakening confidence in the system even more.

more
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAUB5B02SD.html

[catzies]

1. I had to read that headline twice - first thought was quite different

I thought it meant that they were having a hard time fixing the election because they ran out of money! :tinfoilhat:

[asjr]

3. Fooled me also

N/T

[tridim]

2. Damn, I thought the headline was in reference

to the upcoming "fixed" election. Certainly the fixed election isn't strapped for cash, it's funded by the BFEE.

[TacticalPeek]

5. "I know where it could be gotten . . . but it would be wrong." RMN

:evilgrin:

[jamesinca]

4. Kick them when they are down

Keep up the pressure and mostly never pass up the opportunity to harrass a republican.

[DMel]

6. Ban the touch-screen voting machine!

A touch-screen voting machine leaves no paper trail. A corrupt election official (or a state governor) could fix the results, and NOBODY WOULD KNOW.

PLEASE SIGN AND CIRCULATE THIS PETITION TO EVERYBODY ON YOUR LIST:

http://www.petitiononline.com/abctsv/petition.html

[catzies]

7. Welcome to DU, DMel!

:hi:

We're with ya on that. DUers are at the forefront of that very important issue!

[MGKrebs]

8. If your state conducts runoff elections,

the printers could be paid for be implementing Instant Runoff Voting. No more seperate runoff elections! Vote your conscience with no regret!

www.fairvote.org

But it's too late for that (this year) here in Georgia. There's only a week left in the legislative session. There is a bill that would require a paper ballot, (already passed the Senate, now in the House), but introducing IRV language would probably screw things up at this point.