Report: Touchscreen Voting Flawed in Fla.

[DoYouEverWonder]

Sunday July 11, 2004

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Touchscreen voting machines didn't perform as well as devices that scanned paper ballots in this year's Florida Democratic presidential primary, raising questions about the state's voting process for the November election, a newspaper reported Sunday.

An analysis of just under half of the ballots from the March 9 election shows that votes were not recorded for about one out of every 100 people using the new machines, or a 1.09 percent rate of undervotes, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. An undervote is when a selection cannot be detected on a ballot.

That's at least eight times the number of undervotes in the same election on paper ballots marked with pencils and tallied by an optical scanner, which had a 0.12 percent rate of undervotes, the newspaper reported.

<snip>

A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Glenda Hood, Florida's top elections official, did not return calls seeking comment Sunday.






http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4300008,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704

[SW FL Dem]

1. I'll never forget my experience in 2002 with

touchscreen voting in Florida. I know I voted for McBride, but when I reviewed my votes before submitting them, it showed I had voted for Jeb. This time I will be voting absentee.

[SenatorBulworth]

9. not to freak you out sw fl dem

but I wonder what list they put your name on for daring to vote against Crown Prince Jeb? :wow:

[ozymandius]

2. This says it all.

"did not return calls seeking comment"

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. But according to Glenda Hood

these machines are reliable and don't make mistakes. No wonder she's not returniing calls.


http://www.sptimes.com/2004/02/14/State/State_rules_touch_scr.shtml

February 14, 2004

Secretary of State Glenda Hood said there are no certified methods of printing records of touch screen votes. She said the machines are reliable and accurate and can't be tampered with.

[reprehensor]

4. Posting link to original Sun-Sentinel article in GD: Campaign 2004

Otay?

This link.

[AP]

5. But what about Bev's personality?

[ParanoidPat]

6. LOL!

;-) You don't think she drinks Diet Pepsi do ya'? :kick:

[AP]

7. Until I see her feeding the starving in Bangladesh, I'm just not going

to trust another word I hear about BBV.

[jpak]

8. But...but...but...Glenda Hood sez

a paper trail is not needed...

...and that recounts will be unnecessary because touch screen machines MAKE NO MISTAKES.

She said this on FL PBS this spring - I saw and heard it with my own eyes and ears.

I have no doubts - THE FIX IS IN.

[struggle4progress]

10. Voting fraud makes people very angry.

I do hope Florida will solve this "little problem" immediately. There's no excuse ...

[truthisfreedom]

11. i can visualize hundreds of FL officials squirming in their desk chairs

right about now, realizing that the votes lost to undervoting could very well cost bush his election even more than the cheating that they plan to use to offset our incredibly popular super-hero candidates that everyone loves.

[Mr Bojangles]

12. I'm a little ignorant on this subject...

As this will be the first election I've voted in (Too busy chasing tail in 2000...ah the first year of college, lol)

I recall reading somewhere that, in lieu of voting touch-screen, you can ask to cast your vote on a paper ballot, to be submitted into a locked box that's supposed to be there legally in case of power outage, malfunction (haha), or something else happening with the touch machines.

Is this correct, or am I just spouting a bunch of crap? xD

[Zorra]

13. Here: DU Electronic Voting Archive

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=106&topic_id=3390

[Mr Bojangles]

14. Thank you kindly :)

According to my voter registration paperwork the voting is done by "complete the line" style...I'll be in touch with my supervisor of elections to see if that's changing anytime soon.

Thanks again :)

[neverborn]

15. "Chasing tail" ?

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

[Mr Bojangles]

16. It's true...

I wasn't allowed to do much growing up, and college was a crazy blur of all the things I had wanted to do, right on my doorstep.

So I had my priorities a little mixed up, at least I came around ;)

[neverborn]

17. I was referring to your phrase :P

[Mr Bojangles]

18. Blame my father

The wonderous sayings and euphamisims he uses are one of the few things I can't seem shake off from the redneck hell of a town I used to call home. xD

[cthrumatrix]

19. why are they even trying this BS system....besides theft...this is lunacy

[Crazy8s]

20. Why

doesn't FL use the paper ballot exclusively. We have it in our county of Hernando and it seems to work quite well.