No electronic voting (or counting)- Paper ballots only.

[trackfan]

Fascination with technology has to stop at the point where it means possible subversion of democracy. WHO GIVES A F U C K about convenience or speed when this much is at stake. It is meaningless. I don't care if it takes a month. Get the real vote total.

[ldf]

1. hear, hear!

what trackfan said.

to borrow a phrase, it's "hard work" realizing a true democracy. if we can't be bothered verifying the legitimacy of it, we don't deserve to have it.
K & R.

[sam11111]

2. checklist for elections

6 points to have on the tip of your tongue---

paper ballots,
hand counted, (at the)
precinct level,
many eyes,
election BOARD (never one sec. of state) , and
cash-free-campaigns.

This last point...cfc's: all media are required to give free space to candidates, in proportion to poll strength but with some extra given to small fringe candidates to "level things a bit".

IIRC this was/is done in Holland. Parties not allowed to spend ANY cash on ads. Ends the problem of PAC's and GOP advantage with billionaire cash.

Also; many eyes..I like having not only our people watch the counting but also foreign observers. Would get us some credibility overseas as "responsible adults".

Pls memorize these 6 points

[HowHasItComeToThis]

3. I RECALL THAT INDIA TAKES 5 DAYS TO COUNT BALLOTS

[Luminous Animal]

5. The horror.

[former9thward]

16. India is not the U.S.

India is a far larger country and its infrastructure sucks. That is the reason it takes five days.

[gateley]

4. Doesn't matter. Millions of people will be denied their rights to vote.

South Carolina knocked out over 200,000 people who don't have Drivers Licenses, don't know how many of those don't have any other type of acceptable picture ID.

Mission Accomplished.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/DMV-25-residents-get-free-photo-ID-ride-from-SC-2190913.php

[defendandprotect]

8. Post Office closings could put absentee ballots in hands of private services ....

and/or force voters to take their ballots to Municipal buildings personally --

That's just one more way to do harm --

[mucifer]

6. why do you think paper ballots would be so much better?

The paper ballots have ways of disappearing, too.

[trackfan]

9. There's always a chance for fraud or stolen ballots; but

the ability to do it electronically, by, theoretically, as few as one person, with no way of detecting it, trumps, in its insidiousness, the more traditional ways that would have to be employed in stealing votes cast on paper ballots.

[sam11111]

11. ballots better because "many eyes watching" can see paper - not so, electrons

My point 5 , election BOARDS, cd also curb ballot paper theft. Boards have many parties...but eg Ohio has only one guy running elections AFAIK. A Secretary of State I think. A GOP.

See my

Checklist reply above

[defendandprotect]

7. Agree 1000% -- but where's the Dem Party been on this last 11 years????

[Stevepol]

13. Since when did the Dem Party care about this?

Chris Dodd in the 2004 election said, when Kerry asked him about the issues with the voting machine's obvious vulnerability, "We've checked into this and there's nothing to it."

Dodd evidently knows more than 99% of the computer experts in the country.

On this issue, the Dem leaders have skins of concrete five miles thick. They have eyes but don't see and ears but don't hear.

And why don't DU-ers and Dems in the general populace start protesting around the Diebold or the ES&S company sites or Hart Intercivic, etc.? This is by far a greater danger to democracy than almost any other issue today.

I think it would take a bunker buster bomb to get thru to the Dem leadership.

[midnight]

10. Yes.... Stop the election fraud..

[truthwillout777]

12. I agree, the only way to save our democracy

and people need to stop accepting this 'early voting'

How do they know people aren't tossing the unwanted ballots and replacing them early on, this just makes it easier.

There was a reason we voted on the same day.

And there was a damn good reason we had exit polls, the canary in the coal mine..we must demand exit polls in every election

[philly_bob]

14. I'm not sure that's the ultimate solution, but great interim solution! (nt)

[Enthusiast]

15. Kicked and recommended! nt

[chrisa]

17. I don't think we should give up on electronic voting.

It just needs to be more regulated. We would be having paper ballot problems as well with deregulation.

This is the problem with government deregulation, and why the Neo-Con ideology is a failure - when there's no one to oversee that elections are fair.

[Scuba]

18. Paper ballots, hand counted, nothing less. n/t

[kentuck]

19. There is not a precinct in this country where the votes could not be hand counted...

Precincts are not that large normally.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

20. There is no reason why electronic voting with a paper trail can't work

....except for the fact we are ALLOWING people to manipulate it. If we take the people out of the equation, the system works as it should.