Subj : Hacking Democracy
To   : Damon A. Getsman
From : Lee Lofaso
Date : Tue Aug 18 2015 22:44:27

Hello Damon,

 LL>> Maybe we should all go back to using paper ballots.

 DAG> I think you're right about that part, at least.

Sometimes low tech is the way to go.  Not the only way,
but a better way than the alternative.  Of course, anything
can be abused, including the use of paper ballots.  But at
least there is a paper trail that can usually (but not always)
be found to investigate or verify.

 DAG> My software engineer roommate had a class at UMass Amherst that did a
 DAG> segment on hacking the current Diebold voting machines and that was back 
in
 DAG> Bush's first term.  Besides, isn't Diebold somehow tied in to Halliburton 
&
 DAG> conglomerates?

Does it matter?  Government set the criteria.  Those in charge
knew what company would be granted the contract.  Everything on
the up and up.  Right?  From all outward appearances, yes.  But
in reality, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Somebody has to write the code for the machines to work.
This was done in secret.  Why?

In Australia, the code was made public, and posted online.

In the USA, no code has ever been made public or posted online.

What happens in an election in the USA?  We do not have
national elections, as each state is an entity unto itself.
The votes on the machine are stored on a flash drive, with
nothing left on the machine for later retrieval.  How are
you going to have a recount if there is nothing to recount?
What is there to verify?  All you have is what is on that
flash drive, given to the clerk of court or secretary of
state ...

--Lee

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
 * Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)

.