No Paper for Md. Anti-Touchscreen Voters

[Khephra]

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland's highest court Tuesday rejected demands for additional safeguards for touchscreen voting machines, saying elections officials have done everything necessary to ensure the paperless devices are accurate and secure.

The Court of Appeals also rejected a call to allow citizens who do not trust touchscreen voting to use paper ballots in the Nov. 2 general election.

The decision came in a two-paragraph order issued less than three hours after the judges heard arguments on a suit brought by TrueVoteMD. The citizens group alleges the electronic machines, used statewide for the first time in March, are vulnerable to fraud and that the state cannot guarantee fair and accurate election results.

Lead plaintiff Linda Schade said that although the decision was not a surprise, it means voters "are going to be forced to vote on an insecure system."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-electronic-voting,0,2381732.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

[Deja Q]

1. The judges are either very naive or very treasonous, or are they

well versed programmers who saw the code and saw how it won't be misused? :eyes: (I'd be ROTFLMAO if it wasn't so serious.)

Repub or Dem, I don't care. If I lived there, I'd DEMAND a paper trail.

[Eloriel]

7. The courts have been uniformly horrendous on this issue

Which is why I believe we need that COnstitutional Right to Vote Amendment. Barring that (or maybe in addition to that), we need to bump up the state laws all around the country. If the courts don't have the LAWS they need to ensure the safety of our vote, that's where we'll have to continue the fight.

IMO.

Edited to add: People who live there HAVE been demanding a paper trail. This is the result of their efforts. :-(

[ixion]

2. The march towards Murika the Bannana Republic moves on...

what a tragedy. :-(

[Dem2theMax]

8. No kidding. I think I'm going to go hide in the corner. I can't watch

this happening to my beloved country. It's breaking my heart. Someone please come and find me when it's time to take down the red, white and blue and put up the Swastika.

[daleo]

3. This doesn't sound good

One way to look at it, is that this compromises the right to vote. The vote is now mediated by a format and technology that average people cannot understand and even technical people cannot have access to, to determine whether is is really working correctly. So nobody can really be sure that their right to vote is not being infringed upon. The law must not only be done, but it must be seen to be done, never more so than during the exercise of the right to vote.

The fact that judges do not see it this way certainly seems to indicate either naivete or willingness to subvert democracy. In most cases it is probably the first.

4. NOT true--

The certification system for vorting systems is deeply flawed. I know so, first hand.

[SoCalDem]

5. Notary publics parked at tables, outside the "zone" at every

polling station..

Dems who want their votes notated when it can matter, should just swear an affadavit stating that they voted for Kerry (or tried to)


In a polling place where 400 people voted, if the affidavits say 250 voted Kerry...and yet the vapor trail says 300 voted for Bush.....well you can see the trouble brewing here, especially if the media is notified in advance that "score will be kept" in this election..

Be BOLD...


Beat them at their own game...

There cannot be a law against doing this, if people willingly swear an oath as to their candidate choice..


or.. Just have every Dem take the day off, and just STAY at the polling place until the vote count is done... If the numbers are "smelly", let them count PEOPLE....

[AndyTiedye]

6. The Bad News Just Keeps on Coming

Thank you truevotemd et. al. for giving it your best shot.
There is nothing more you could have done.
We all wish it could have turned out otherwise.

They will now try to steal Maryland's electoral votes, of course.
Is there anything we can do to stop them?