The Machineries of Democracy: Failed Trust, Elections in Courts


Submitted by jsebes on November 4, 2008 - 6:20pm. PST

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.


Virginia: Secrets, Lines, and Preventing Coercion


Submitted by jsebes on October 31, 2008 - 8:49pm. PST

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


Submitted by jsebes on October 22, 2008 - 8:14pm. PST

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


Submitted by jsebes on October 21, 2008 - 10:00pm. PST

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.


The Dark Side of Voter Registration


Submitted by jsebes on October 15, 2008 - 3:25pm. PST

I've noticed more coverage of election integrity issues relating to voter registration. It's good to see some focus on VR-related problems, but I don't see much about a deeper issue -- transparency and publc accountability of the (im)proper use of voter registration systems and processes.


Palm Beach Lost Votes: Paper is not the Problem


Submitted by jsebes on October 10, 2008 - 9:32pm. PST

The dust has settled – sort of – in the “lost ballots snafu” in Palm Beach County Florida, enough that I can correct a very serious mis-reading of the events, and briefly summarize the two completely contradictory “outcomes” of investigation: (1) it’s an accounting problem, not a technology problem, and (2) it’s a technology problem. Either way, the result is a failed election – not just a clouded outcome, but a completely failed election. The very short story: a recount was needed, 3000+ ballots couldn’t be


Out-sourced elections: an about-face?


Submitted by jsebes on September 2, 2008 - 5:07pm. PST

It looks like there may some movement away from the current situation in which U.S. elections are increasingly outsourced and privatized.


A first: election system vendors admits losing votes


Submitted by jsebes on August 26, 2008 - 1:31pm. PST

Here is a first-ever admission: a real software bug in a real voting system can drop real votes, and has dropped votes. And perhaps has been doing so for years. I wrote earlier about the wrangle between the state of Ohio and Premier Election Systems (formerly Diebold), in which some real vote dropping was blamed on anti-virus software (which wasn't allowed to be in the machines in the first place!).


No Guarantees: the Right to Vote


Submitted by jsebes on August 21, 2008 - 12:24pm. PST

A recent New York Times editorial “The Right to Vote” explains how vote suppression is alive and well, with real barriers created to prevent people from voting, sometimes unintentionally, and sometime very much on partisan politics purpose. The most effective means are attacks on voter’s eligibility, by abusing voter registration information. (That’s one reason for OSDV’s efforts to create technology


Anti-virus and the anti-voting machine


Submitted by jsebes on August 18, 2008 - 12:03pm. PST

There’s some intriguing and ironic details near the bottom of the on-going legal saga in Ohio.


1234next ›last »
Syndicate content

Fundamentally improving the way digital voting technology works.

From the Blog

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

Categories: election reform, Voting, voting technology

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

Categories: election reform, Voting, voting technology