Digital Voting Machines were Promoted in the wake of a similarly Chaotic Scene 19 years ago: the Infamous Punch-Card Ballots and Hanging Chads of South Florida that tossed the Presidential Contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore into Uncertainty.
But now, the Machinery that was Supposed to be the Solution has spawned a whole New Controversy, this time with National Security at stake, the Prospect of Foreign States Disrupting American Elections.
Security Experts say the Cheapest, and to their minds, Most Reliable and Hack-Proof Method, to Cast Votes also happens to be the Lowest Tech:
- Paper Ballots Marked by Hand
- Fed through Scanners to Tally the Results
- Physical Proof of the Vote for Recounts
They have called for Replacing Computerized Equipment, particularly Paperless Older Models, with the decidedly Luddite Alternative.
The Electronic Devices have “raised far more security questions than paper ballots because you have a potentially hackable computer standing between the voter and the record,” said J. Alex Halderman, a Computer Science Professor at the University of Michigan, adding that Without Sufficient Research, these Electronic New voting Machines could be “a waste of money.”
Cybersecurity Experts are Baffled by Local Election Officials choosing the computerized Voting Machines. “It’s a mystery to me,” said Rich DeMillo, a Georgia Tech Computer Science Professor and Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Technology Officer. “Does someone have 8 x 10 glossies? No one has been able to figure out the behavior of elections officials. It’s like they all drink the same Kool-Aid.”
The Animus is mutual. At Conferences, Election Administrators swap Complaints about Cyber Experts treating them like Idiots, said Dana DeBeauvoir, Head of Elections in Travis County, Texas, whose Office Purchased a Computerized System DeMillo Deplores. Hand-Marked Ballots are “a supremely horrible idea” cooked up by people in Washington “who have never had to really conduct an election,” she said.
Now that's an indication of why a Texas County is in Trouble.
I have monitored Elections for 12 years, and the only Electronic system I would approve, is one the Prints a Physical Ballot that a Voter can Verify their Choices and the Board of Elections can Perform a Physical Recount and Audits.
starting that Month would need to Run in the Regular Election Cycle, with the Primary on April 28th and General Election in November 2020.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
