NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER | Electronic Voting Controversy | PBS

Spencer Michels reports on how new electronic voting machines, introduced to prevent problems like those seen in Florida's 2000 election, bring a whole new batch of problems and controversies. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june04/voting_05-05.html

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• electronic
• voting
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• Vote
• Act
• Election
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• election
• reform
• machines
• PBS
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[JeffreyRodriguez]

The final commentator is wrong, and a fool.

Manipulation of electronic records is far simpler a task than manipulation of physical records. I can change millions of votes in only a second electronically, millions of sheets of paper is a completely different matter.

[LeoHareMusic]

As the old saying goes, "If a man can make it, a man can break it."

[benbur69]

That last commentator has no clue about computers. It is much easier to manipulate a computer than paper.

[JeffreyRodriguez]

The bigger risk is less the machines than the central tabulation computer; though both are easily compromised.

Personally, I like what we have in Arizona: paper ballots are fed into electronic counting machines. I think it's a reasonable mix of technology (speed, ease, accuracy) with accountable paper trails.

[anmoose]

Absolutely correct. It's a simple task to print that record on watermarked or otherwise secure paper, in such a way that it's certifiable as an accurate document. Those Diebold machines are flawed, the operating systems are buggy and failure prone, and their security is so weak that they've been experimentally hacked on a voting site, under tight surveillance. Every vote one of those machines holds can be changed in seconds.

Moosie