California requires electronic voting machines to make receipts

[Socialist Christian]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/21/state1710EST0100.DTL

<snip>
In a major victory for voting rights advocates, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley announced Friday that all electronic voting machines in California must provide paper receipts by 2006.

Shelley also introduced stricter requirements for testing and auditing of the software used to record and tabulate votes in the nation's most populous state. The move may prompt changes in the type of voting equipment used throughout the country as precincts rush to modernize terminals.

California's reforms address concerns of Silicon Valley computer scientists and voting rights advocates who have been warning that paperless voting systems expose the vote to hackers, software bugs and mechanical breakdowns. The announcement comes less than three weeks after a state agency began an investigation of uncertified software allegedly used in California's Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election.

According to Shelley's nine-page list of increased requirements for voting equipment companies, all counties that purchase new touch-screen terminals -- also known as "direct recording electronic" equipment, or DREs -- must provide a "voter verified paper audit trail," starting in July, 2005.

[sam sarrha]

1. .. "2006" isnt that convient !

[Myra]

16. Yeah, by 2006 there'll probably be martial law

And no pretense of voting.

They're hardly even bothering to pretend
they care about elections and voter backlash
even now.

[mbperrin]

2. OK! There's ONE!

Let's get the rest!

[Don Claybrook]

5. Not JUST one of 50

Remember the phrase, "As goes California, so goes the rest of the nation"?

Fuel efficiency standards, consumer protections, ad infinitum.

This will cause many, many other states to look at the issues.

Thank you, Bev Harris, and other activists. It wouldn't have happened without you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. not soon enough for me

but this is a good move

[jonoboy]

4. if there is unregulated electronic voting it will be rigged for sure

[arcane1]

6. SWEET!!! but.... 2006???

that just might be too late

I wonder what the story is on the uncertified ware used in the recall? :shrug:

[david_vincent]

7. This is still suspect

So you vote for candidate A, and the machine spits out a piece of paper saying you voted for A. But who really knows whether the vote is recorded into memory for A or for another candidate? It would be incredibly easy to program the machine to record every 7th vote for A as a vote for B, while still spitting out a receipt for A.
Bottom line is, elections have *always* been subject to fraud and have *never* been as fair as we're indoctrinated to believe them to be. Wake up! We're only now coming to grips with this problem, 200+ years into our independence. The so-called BBV "controversy" is really the most direct inquiry into their democracy that citizens of this nation have conducted since its inception.

[neuvocat]

8. kick

[Eochaidh]

11. It's a no win situation.

They know that the citizens aren't going to get together and tally of of their reciepts, so printing them in the first place is just an empty concession. And even if everyone tallied their votes independently, the election system is set up in such a manner that the new count won't be legal. I suppose this is one of the few situations where electronic technology isn't better. At least with paper ballots, those who would rig the election have to go to a lot more effort to hide the cheating.

[Skwmom]

9. What are receipts going to do?

If exit polls don't support the outcome they are never released so how is a candidate even going to be able to identify when a recount is necessary?

[Piperay]

10. 2006...that means the repigs will

steal another Presidential election next year. :cry: :argh: :mad: :grr: :nuke:

[shihtzu5]

12. Absentee voting

Saw the following on Bartcop:

How to prevent Diebold from rigging the 2004 election

Simple - vote using an absentee ballot.

If every Democrat in the United States did that, they'd have to hand count 51,000,000 votes.
There would be a paper trail, and Diebold would be unable to rig the election for the B.F.E.E.

[Eloriel]

18. The only problem is

that absentee votes are tremendously fraud-prone as well. They also seem to be taken very cavalierly by manyelection officials, from what I gather. They are sometimes not even counted unless needed to decide the outcome of a race.

However, as a stop-gap measure, if enough people insisted around the country where electronic voting machines are used ... ?? Perhaps. Not my favorite proposal, but maybe it has some merit.

Eloriel

[leesa]

13. By 2006?? Sounds like a loss to me.

One more election for the Republicans to steal...and this ones a big one

[Gin]

14. the votes will be rigged so the numbers never need a recount....

I have become so cynical....this whole vote rigging thing is so obvious....it's done right under our noses..as in..The Georgia rethuglican win over Max Cleland who went into the polls with a 5 point lead and came out the loser...they blame it on the ad comparing him with sadddam...the real truth is...the system was rigged for him to lose...no recount option...case closed. Screw U!

It's friday...I have had some wine...screw the whole damn planet...Beam me up Scotty!

[shanti]

15. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, KEVIN! MY VOTE will COUNT!!!!!

[shirlden]

17. YEEE HAW !!!!

The activists win one..........congrats to all. Hugs and kisses and the drinks are on me.

This will be a huge help in our arguments in the rest of the country.
Now I have to go rewrite the 3 page petition I just finished to send to the SOS in my state. What the heck......at least I can add another log to the fire we are starting.

California :yourock:

[salinen]

19. i'd bet

casio or sony could build a better machine that gives receipts and all by 2004 elections.

[proud patriot]

20. It's a step in the right direction

:D