Re-inventing How America Votes -- Now More Relevant Than Ever

In a previous post, I noted two things we've learned from this election. The first (and subject of that post) is to what extent the Internet has changed the way elections are conducted. The second, and the focus here, is to what extent the election taught us anything about the need to re-invent HOW America votes.

In the past two days, I've been asked several times whether the election, as it turned out, reduces the importance of our Project or not. Seriously.

The Internet Changed Something About Elections, Just Not What You Think

In the aftermath of this historic election a couple of observations are worth making.

First, the need for election reform and how America votes persists. Had the election not gone down in the manner it did, and had Senator McCain not conceded when he did, make no mistake challenges would have ensued. But I'll leave that for another post. For this one, let me turn attention to the second. So,

An OSDV Election Night Gift: The Pugent Smell of Freshly Cut Code!

Greetings Friends & Supporters of the OSDV Project-

The Machineries of Democracy: Failed Trust, Elections in Courts

As you might imagine, it is hard to choose from the many events of Election Day 2008 to report and reflect on! But I thought that I’d pick a handful of events that show just how vitally important it is the election equipment be designed carefully – and the consequences of products that aren’t, and vendors that don’t seem to care. I have to say, it’s potentially dire, which is why I’ve picked as many as 3 events to support my claims.

Republican National Committee Prepares for Computerized Voting Fraud Legal Battle

From the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch:
http://tinyurl.com/5hptsr

A Proposed Voter Bill of Rights

On this Election Day I am back in the blog saddle here (more or less), and have been very busy in recent months working on development issues for the Foundation and relocating to our new Portland, OR offices from San Francisco, although I am down in the Silicon Valley twice monthly.

While I tweet myself to carpel tunnel death, monitoring several channels of streaming news data on voting, I want to pass along this interesting item on a proposed voter bill of rights.

Virginia: Secrets, Lines, and Preventing Coercion

The state of Virginia looks like a state-full of Election Day trouble spots, to many elections experts and activists. I agree with one of the main concerns (long lines at the polls) but I also wanted to share the beneficial flip side of the VA scene, recalled to me by the eloquent words of colleague Doug Jones of University of Iowa.

Tennesseeans Confused by Voting Machines' BAR

With early voting continuing apace (often a slow pace with long lines), so does the stream of news on election dysfunction, usually with an e-voting system as a culprit. But today’s news from Knox County TN shows how a seemingly simple question can create some serious – but wholly unnecessary – confusion.

Early Voting: Reliability and Reluctance

The 2009 U.S. Presidential election is now underway, with early voting having started in many states. And pretty much right off the bat, we’re seeing problems with reliability and reluctance. The story in New Jersey is a familiar one writ large, but the contrast with Texas and Florida shows that often the same concerns-- reliability and trust -- lead to similar reluctance about both using e-voting technology, and about avoiding it. The kicker is the reluctance to avoid it, in Florida – read on.

Fewer Touchscreens, But Just as Much Technology

Today some good news that is also annoying and misleading.