Originally published Feb 23, 2006
Mike Himowitz
Most computer-savvy people I know would never entrust something as important as picking the next president or governor to gadgets as unreliable as computers. Especially with no paper backup.
Snip....But I'm not that cynical. I'm just glad that another prominent voice has joined the campaign against a voting system whose very design leaves it open to charges of tampering and mismanagement
Snip....But here's the real reason why Diebold's system and others of its ilk aren't safe and never will be: No one can see inside them. No one can watch them count votes, literally or figuratively.
Snip....Remember the old days of paper ballots? Election judges (Republican and Democrat, side by side) looked at each one and marked down the results.
Both parties had observers. If a ballot counter tried to record a Smith vote in Jones' column, someone would be there to catch it. In case of a dispute, the ballots were available for a recount.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-bz.himowitz23feb23,0,2557428.column?coll=bal-mdpolitics-headlines