Secret Revealed: Where the VVPAT may be hidden on the TSx

[Wilms]

ELECTION UPDATES
More early voting observations from California, and a question about the Diebold VVPAT device

by Michael Alvarez

Thursday, June 01, 2006

SNIP

My friend's voting experience went fine, but afterwards, when we were walking in front of the early voting location, he asked me about the paper audit trail. He wanted to know where it was on the voting device. I was surprised, and asked him whether or not he had seen it when he voted ... he said he didn't see any paper trail, and didn't know where it was. This, by the way, is someone who works with technology all day long and is very much a techie!

snip

...(I)...refer readers to this photo.



This is an image of a Diebold Elections System AccuVote-TSx DRE voting machine with a VVPAT attachment (at right). (Photographer: User:Joebeone)


Here, the VVPAT device is located on the lower right of the terminal, underneath the blue shield that is perpendicular to the machine (the actual VVPAT paper ballot is behind that shield). I noticed that on one of the voting devices today this shield was closed, thus meaning that unless a voter using that device with the shield closed knew where the VVPAT was located and opened the shield, he or she might not be aware that the VVPAT ballot was even there! (Note that one of the pollworkers who did not want us looking at the machines walked around and flipped the screen up today after we noted this problem.)

Is this the reason my friend yesterday was not aware of the VVPAT ballot? I don't know. Is this leading some voters to be confused about the VVPAT? Maybe. I asked the inspector why that shield was there, and he said that he thought it was there to protect the device for storage. My reaction is that it should be removed when the devices are in operation (or somehow fixed open during voting), just to insure that it is not shut and that it does not either confuse voters or lead them to not know where their VVPAT ballot is located.

snip

http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/2006/06/more-early-voting-observations-from.html

[Land Shark]

1. machine won't have to work as hard to print an accurate VVPAT

if the door is closed. Ha. Would be interesting to study the door's wiring and whether or not the machine can sense if it is open or closed....

[Wilms]

2. Interesting thought. n/t

[Pierre.Suave]

3. This is ridiculous

WE NEED PAPER BALLOTS UNTIL THE ELECTRONIC VOTING MESS IS FIXED.

Until then, every vote is suspect.

[autorank]

4. Am I right or am I right...???...well, probabloy...

Why do we need a machines if we have a paper ballot coming out of them? They're just printers?

We're being hustled:

This is desirable and it makes sense.

The machine is there to produce a paper ballot that the voter will inspect and accept
or reject. If the machine produces the voters intent on paper, then the voter places
the ballot in a see through container and the ballot, with appropriate security, proceeds
to a counting area. It's counted and that's it. If a second level of verification is
necessary, the total derived form the paper ballots, you simply recount paper with same or more
observers.

This is undesirable and makes no sense.

The machine takes a vote and produces a paper ballot for the users inspection. Somehow the inner
workings of the machine are verified by the voter inspecting a paper ballot; even though the paper
ballot may have nothing to do with the way the machine handled the vote (in other words, the machine
is perfectly capable of producing "Kerry - Edwards" on paper and recording a vote for "Bush - Cheney."
Recounts are rare. We'd never know.

So to all those computer voting advocates, through verification or no verification, your gig is up; you arguments and absurdities are transparently exposed by just the above two paragraphs; there is NO reason to have machines involved in voting unless they're serving as printers and nothing more. Knock it off, stop with the "verified" arguments. There is no reason for it. If the machines can produce a paper ballot, that's the ballot...nothing in between.

[Kip Humphrey]

6. Got to have the machine to flip the vote!

Without converting the vote to digital information, the vote can't be manipulated and all those crooks would lose their jobs! We need the machines to maintain faux full employment. Don't you see that???

(NOT!)

[autorank]

8. Kip, I stand corrected...without flipped votes, no war; then where would

we be. I'll go to confession, pay my penance, and correct my behavior.

Thanks I needed that;)

[In Truth We Trust]

7. Exactly AutoRank!!! PAPER BALLOTS AND HAND COUNTS!!

[banana republican]

5. WHAT A POS....

this does not even look professional.

How many gizmos does it have???

someone here is a six pack short of a case....

[FogerRox]

9. Good one Wilms... But Iam too late to REC, but heres a kick