Keeping an eye on the machines that count Minnesotans' votes

[katinmn]

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/15831463.htm

When Minnesotans are asked to raise their hands if they think our electronic voting machines accurately count their votes, almost all hands go up. However, when asked if they think votes in other states are counted accurately, only a few hands go up. Voters in our state have confidence in our voting machines.

But relying on a voting machine to electronically count ballots without a meaningful audit is like making bank deposits without receiving monthly statements to verify the balance. Thanks to a new, groundbreaking state law requiring a post-election review, we will have a way to help verify the accuracy of our voting machines. This review is possible because all Minnesotans will cast their ballots on paper that are counted by optical scanners.

Some think we don't need this review law because our voting machines are accurate; however, no one can definitively say how accurate they are. While Minnesota will not use direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines, optical scanners are at risk for some of the same potential programming errors as DREs. Because of this risk, safeguards are essential to ensure accuracy. The review provides an important piece that has been missing in Minnesota elections.

The new review law requires a hand count of randomly selected precincts in every county. If the hand count from the review shows a difference (greater than 0.5 percent) compared with the machine count from Election Day, further hand counts are required. The races to be reviewed are U.S. Senate, U.S. House and governor.

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[bluedeminredstate]

1. Great post!

I needed to hear that this is being taken seriously somewhere in this nation.
Now if we had every state in the country following Minnesota I wouldn't feel such dread about the outcome of the election...
:tinfoilhat:

[katinmn]

2. Take off that hat! We have reasons to be wary

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2474379