General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)The reality about "vote flipping" machines in NC and elsewhere [View all]
I swore I would avoid these kinds of threads since I always regret getting involved, but people are wasting a lot of energy better spent toward getting people to the polls.
Those of you who have been around a while may remember me for being involved in the whole e-voting issue as far back as 2002 on DU. I worked with Bev Harris before we parted company for a variety of reasons, but I was right in the middle of the whole Diebold affair. In 2005 I served in the NC Select Committee on E-Voting and helped draft the laws that govern electronic voting in NC.
I coined the term "black box voting"
I have worked with, built, written about and taught about computers for about 30 years. I worked for eight years installing computer networks in local banks and am pretty familiar with what is required to make systems secure and the rigors of auditing.
That said, "vote flipping", while a problem, is not evidence of fraud, it is evidence of a poorly calibrated touchscreen. If you search Google for news stories you will find the same problem happening in lots of places where TS systems are used, but you will also find the other side saying the machines are rigged by Democrats against GOP candidates.
Despite what a lot of people like to claim, stealing an election by rigging voting machines is not that easy, and highly dangerous to your freedom. Voter suppression tactics, on the other hand, are very effective and very HARD to prosecute.
Stop getting worked up about this and get on the phone to get people to the polls. Once again, the problem DOES happen and DOES need to brought to the attention of the poll workers/press, but it is not evidence of fraud.
Also, Diebold hasn't owned a voting machine since 2009. We, meaning activists at DU, drove them out of the business.
Again, yes it IS a problem and it does need to be addressed and we should really get rid of TS systems entirely and replace them with OpScan systems. However, claiming this evidence of fraud discourages people from voting at a time where we need every damn vote we can get.
Update: The same problem, different side in 2008.
http://blackboxvoting.com/s9/index.php?/archives/323-Is-there-a-party-default-on-touch-screen-machines-NC-votes-flip-to-Obama.html