digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

See the original image at rawstory.com

GOP cyber-security expert: Diebold tampered with 2002 voting

rawstory.com — A leading cyber-security expert and former adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he has fresh evidence regarding election fraud on Diebold electronic voting machines during the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial and senatorial elections. Stephen Spoonamore is the founder and until recently the CEO of an information technology policy and security firm.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • wonderchemist, on 07/18/2008, -9/+127I sure hopes someone decides to hacks them and make the final vote look like:

    Stalin: 928,392
    Hitler: 929,932

    Then we'll have the major candidates arguing which one is Hitler.
  • nahsrocketeer75, on 07/18/2008, -2/+118This looks incredibly suspicious. And, it doesn't really matter whether it turns out to be actual voter fraud or not: The mere fact that paperless voting machines that are impossible to audit are being used means tampering and/or suspicions of same are inevitable. Until every vote creates a paper trail, there will be continued erosion of voter confidence.
    • AssJuice, on 07/18/2008, -2/+9Everyone should get a receipt and they must mail them in so it can be cross checked. hell even that has its problems but its better than what we have now.
      • notoneofus, on 07/18/2008, -0/+6Tie it into a national lottery and people would probably do it.
      • dextrocardia, on 07/18/2008, -0/+4Why wouldn't you just put your receipt into a locked ballot box, like we did with the original paper ballots? Mailing them in after the fact opens up whole other avenues of possible fraud.
      • ABEND954, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1A simple journal tape, similar to that of a cash register, would suffice. After you vote, your selections would print on the journal which you would be able to see through a clear window. You would be able to visually verify the results and then it could form feed after you press the verify button so that your vote is secret. Simple.
    • CyphreDias, on 07/18/2008, -0/+22I voted you up, but I almost voted you down for using the phrase "voter fraud" instead of "election fraud", because it is not the voters that are perpetrating the fraud in question. The mainstream media has trained us to use the term "voter fraud" which puts the focus on the voters instead of on the election officials.
    • xenuxenuts, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3Enough voters think that it couldn't happen here that there's a good chance it wont matter.
    • spookyttws, on 07/18/2008, -0/+5My question is, why do we need to have voting machines to begin with? Yes, it takes a bit longer to count, but what was wrong with pen and paper? It makes things cheap, easy and most importantly easily audited. Simply because we have the technology must we use it for that specific purpose?
      • Psi57, on 07/19/2008, -0/+4Because of the Floridatards that couldn't punch a hole through a piece of paper and thus got Bush elected.
      • AmerPatriot55, on 07/19/2008, -0/+4NO, it wasn't the Florida voters either, it was Katherine Harris, FL State Supervisor of Elections who was later rewarded with a nice job in the House for her loyalty to the Bush family AND the Supreme Court that stopped the re-count and declared Bush won! The same thing happened in Ohio in 2004!
        You should really get your facts straight before spouting crap!
        One precinct in FL actually had a NEGATIVE number of votes for Gore, when he actually won that precinct! Go to Black Box Voting, they did extensive research on this!
  • shitforbrains, on 07/18/2008, -34/+14I think even a paper trail is a problem. Voting data should be stored in the DNA of a rabbit. If fraud is detected, then the rabbit dies. ;-)
    • bjornski, on 07/18/2008, -0/+4Apt name.
      • shitforbrains, on 07/18/2008, -5/+3I'm sorry. I forgot that most of you people are too young to understand why the phrase "the rabbit dies" is funny and appropriate to this article. Which I'm sure is why you all buried me. It's ok, you didn't know.

        Back in olden times before EPT pregnancy tests the way that pregnancy tests were conducted is that urine from a woman who suspected pregnancy was injected into a female rabbit. A day or two later the rabbit was vivisected and it's ovaries were examined. The ovaries would react and change in response to hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin). So the rabbit always died, however the popular misconception was that the rabbit only died if the woman was pregnant. Consequently :the rabbit died" was a common euphemism for pregnancy. Think of the phrase from Aerosmiths Sweet Emotion; "Can't catch me 'cause the rabbit done died."
      • bjornski, on 07/18/2008, -2/+4No, we understand the analogy.

        It was just a dumb one.
      • shitforbrains, on 07/18/2008, -2/+5Ah, ok. I see. Well then I guess I'll just shut up. Serves me right.
  • HalleBurton, on 07/18/2008, -2/+166"It's not the people who vote that count. It's the people who count the votes." (Josef Stalin)

    There is no legitimate reason why our voting process should be in the hands of private interests.
    • psyjoniz, on 07/18/2008, -1/+12sure there is. if it wasn't, do you realize how hard it would be for them to rig the elections?
    • sodade, on 07/18/2008, -2/+9But but we must privatize EVERYTHING!!! Unrestrained free markets FTW
    • BlackJackJester, on 07/18/2008, -3/+5There is no problem with it being a private entity, but there is also no reason it has to be one single company, and there is also no reason the software shouldn't be open source. There is also no reason the system could be hackable AT ALL. With simple use closed systems, dumb touchscreen terminals, locked away server, and liberal use of one-time-pad (proven un-hackable if used only once), you have a flawless system. There won't be any of this stupid "vote counting". The instant the poll closes, the winner is known.

      Don't think it's accurate? Have the system print out a paper copy of the vote that is registered, and drop it off into a bin - automatically, so a hand count is possible if required. Software is open source, so there are no secrets.

      Hey look, pay me millions, I just solved the e-voting problem.
    • bobbi21, on 07/18/2008, -1/+3i'm pretty sure anyone who looked into this for more than an hour would be able to figure out a better system. the ppl in power just dont want one
    • Hangly, on 07/18/2008, -1/+1Do a search for Giuliani and the phrase "911 votes." It turns up a LOT of hits from many state primaries around the country.

      Yep, there's some funny funny guys working at Diebold.
    • marytnurse, on 07/19/2008, -2/+1I'm a huge voter rights advocate, I'm a master's student in information technology, and a computer is NO WAY to count a vote!!!

      but there is also no way Stalin, who was a dictator, said anything about elections. why would he care about an election? now HITLER was duly elected. anyone read Letters to a Young Patriot? how about Loser Take All?
      • caramba420, on 07/19/2008, -0/+0Manual vote counts also rely on people for accuracy and security.

        I'm sure if the OpenBSD folks designed an electronic voting system, it would be as secure as paper.
      • HalleBurton, on 07/28/2008, -0/+1Hitler elected? Don't think so. Hindenburg tapped him to form a government after the failure of other chancellors. Hitler's party lacked a clear majority and had to form a coalition to hold power; and, once in, the elections were rigged, intimidation was used and ultimately, the parliament ceded their power to his enabling laws. Shades of the 1930's in more than a few ways...
    • sylvok, on 07/19/2008, -1/+2Didnt the CEO of Diebold campaign for Bush

      http://www.boingboing.net/2004/11/03/quote-of-the- ...
      http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.ht ...
      http://nightweed.com/usavotefacts.html
    • skinnyskittles, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2@sodade. if we privatized everything then there'd be no reason to vote
  • SimmaDownNow, on 07/18/2008, -2/+99The worse part of this story is our reaction.

    Even though this is about Georgia's gubernatorial and senatorial elections, we all have this deep seated suspicion that the presidential election was stolen via these same machines. And as the revelations supporting our beliefs continue to trickle out, we are like, meh.

    But seriously, that new Batman movie was as good as the hype said it was am I right?
    • whatknight, on 07/18/2008, -0/+16there must be a breaking point though. i mean, i hope there is a breaking point.
    • Andrwmorph, on 07/18/2008, -3/+2Heath Ledger actually creeped me out at a few points
    • bobbi21, on 07/18/2008, -0/+2the only breaking point would be if bush banned alcohol, tv or fast food or something.
      • Hangly, on 07/18/2008, -1/+1Or if the captain tilts the spaceship waaay to the side causing the people to all slide into a pig pile.
    • obliviousfool, on 07/19/2008, -0/+4I've been researching stolen elections since 2000. At this point I'm tired of it. We've had stolen elections. The math bears it out. I don't know how to change it. It's scandal fatigue, I guess.
    • dashdingo, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1What are we gonna do? "Alright Bush, we're going to talk about impeachment while you pass laws and ***** that inevitably protect you, but we're not actually going to do anything, cause we're all a bunch of pussies"?
  • HeartlandUSA, on 07/18/2008, -3/+47Ohio Attorney Files to Lift Stay on '04 Election Case, Cites Allegations, Evidence of Massive Fraud by a Number of GOP Operatives

    Leading Computer Security Expert Joins Press Conference, Case, Notes Fraudulent Patterns That Should Have Triggered Investigation

    Motion to Proceed with Targeted Discovery in Case Explained as Effort to Help Protect Integrity of '08 Election...

    "We anticipate Mr. Rove will be identified as having engaged in a corrupt, ongoing pattern of corrupt activities specifically affecting the situation here in Ohio," charged attorney Cliff Arnebeck in a press conference held this morning in Columbus...

    FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6189
  • gravypump, on 07/18/2008, -0/+61You all should watch the movie "Hacking Democracy" to see just how easy it is to ***** with these Diebold machines. They should be illegal, or at minimum they shouldn't be able to keep their code secret.
    • muckemuck, on 07/18/2008, -0/+9http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4463776866 ... .. and if you're too rushed to watch the whole thing then skip to the last 10 minutes or so. That's when they do the mock election and show how it's done.. then go back and watch it from the start because they show how even the current "paper trail" process most states use is fairly pointless. (see NH primaries for a better example of this.. how about those stuffable boxes and reusable "post-it" note labels/seals)
    • fokov, on 07/18/2008, -0/+4how would you prove the code that they released is the code that is running? It is very easy to make a mock-OS, even better with linux you can control the whole pipeline of communications, just as if it were real and no one would know.

      If you can solve these problems many industries like gaming would love you. The problem is, no matter what gizmo security system exists, the human element can still be corrupted either with direct vote tampering/rigging or system fixing (as in the electoral college/not get on ballot style of rigging elections).
  • InsideJob11Sep, on 07/18/2008, -14/+36Our entire gov't is criminal!

    Resist the NWO/globalists who seek to destroy U.S. sovereignty!
    • ironhide, on 07/18/2008, -13/+4Shaddap fruit loop.
    • fokov, on 07/18/2008, -2/+4don't get all excited for all of the sudden people are attacking America. Before American was even established people were already fighting it. Read up on the American Revolution, nothing changed until the real war ended, the war of 1812. There have always been plots against EVERY government, America is not special in this regard. Honestly, it is the easiest one to take over. Back in the day, if you couldn't be the best warrior or had the blood of the King, you couldn't take the thrown. Today, money and political favors buy votes that cancel out people that know what they are doing.
  • principle, on 07/18/2008, -16/+6So what exactly prompted a press conference? This story has lots of tantalizing, circumstantial evidence without any substance.
    • camiller, on 07/18/2008, -3/+3I agree
      "...-- and without access to the machine for which the patch was designed, he could not learn more."
      Basically there is no evidence here, only suspicion.
      • oldgal, on 07/18/2008, -0/+2Access to the machine would probably not help much, because anyone who would go to these lengths would also have the code self destruct based on the time clock.
  • TheLogic, on 07/18/2008, -1/+40We should have all voting done on paper ballots. If you want to vote for the Democrat, circle their name with the blue crayon. Republican, red, etc. Have a color chart for all the parties. Therefore, if your circle goes slightly over to the Democratic side, and you used a red crayon, they (and by they, I mean the politically unbiased 6 year olds we hire to sort votes) will know you meant to vote Republican. They split the piles into red, blue, green, and do this for each office on the ballot. Then, hire third party foreigners who are unaware of the color system, or any of the candidates, and have them tally the votes. Keep the ballots out of the hands of anyone with any clue of what they're doing, and I can guarantee you, sadly enough, the end count will be much more accurate than the flawed systems we have in place today.
    • haikuFU, on 07/18/2008, -3/+2LET'S ALL GET THE CRAYOLA LOBBYIST!!
    • camiller, on 07/18/2008, -1/+2tich tich, discriminating against the colorblind like that. For Shame.
      • enclaved, on 07/18/2008, -0/+4The crayons will have the colors clearly labeled on them silly. Have you not colored recently?
      • camiller, on 07/18/2008, -0/+1What about those counting the votes?
      • enclaved, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3Job interview for vote counting job.

        Can you see colors?

        No.

        Have a nice day. We're going to go in a different direction.
      • acceleration, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1What if they switch the paper sleeves on the crayons, so colour-blind people will be using the wrong colours?? Did you ever think of that, huh?
    • Lugano, on 07/18/2008, -3/+1That wouldn't be 508 compliant.
  • slabdigger, on 07/18/2008, -4/+43There will be bizarre polls right up to the election arguing, against all logic that McCain and Obama are in a statistical dead heat. Then, amazingly, McCain wins by .0025%! If it's on TV, it must be true.
    • Intercon, on 07/18/2008, -3/+12This is what I've been expecting all along. I'm pretty sure that this election, barring some unforseen slip-up a la Jesse Jackson, Obama is going to win by a landslide. But then I see these polls on TV that would like me to think otherwise.

      And now Rove is right where they need him to be. Sitting behind the desk of a "News" program, slyly tweaking the story as events unfold, so that you, the viewer, can get a "fair and balanced" viewpoint.

      Goebbels would be impressed.
    • Scien, on 07/18/2008, -2/+4I think you mean McCain loses the popular vote by .0025%, but due to the electorial college system, wins the White House anyway.
    • Hangly, on 07/18/2008, -0/+7Actually I assume everything on TV is a lie.
  • txdv48, on 07/18/2008, -1/+27And this in the nation we expect young men and women to defend on a battlefield. It just makes you want to puke.
  • ChristPissed, on 07/18/2008, -0/+48Spoonamore, a Republican, is a true American Patriot. He sets an outstanding example for all Americans by putting U.S. citizen's interests before one's own party's interests.
  • PolishLogic, on 07/18/2008, -1/+25***** ballot machines. Paper all the way.
    • kd1s, on 07/18/2008, -0/+4RI uses paper ballots but they're scanned after you mark them. The ballots are kept for a period of time and if challenged they can be run through the master computer. If that doesn't satisfy you, you can manually count the ballots.

      And how does one vote? You simply complete a line with a magic marker. That line forms and arrow pointing toward your candidate of choice.
    • Hangly, on 07/18/2008, -0/+2Fie on your paper! Calfskin vellum or nothing.
  • UltimatrixmaN, on 07/18/2008, -0/+19I've never trusted any electronic voting system.
    No matter how the votes are tallied, all someone has to do is push a button and the numbers change.

    This is one of the few things I advocate paper for.
    I want a reciept for my electronic transaction as well.
    • caramba420, on 07/19/2008, -0/+0That's not really the case. There are relatively secure systems, but I don't think the folks at Diebold really take security seriously, or they aren't talented enough. I think the problem really lies in that there isn't a linear relationship between the level of security, and how much money they make. They get their fat check regardless of the performance. Video game console manufacturers, on the other hand, immediately see a loss of profit if their system is easy to compromise.

      If the hardware was sufficiently complex, and changed every four years, like consoles do, then there would be little chance of hacking them. Yes, I do realize that game consoles are routinely hacked, but don't forget that most of these hacks require HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS that can be easily detected in an audit.

      An advantage that would exist in voting machines over game consoles is that the performance of the processor is not really all that important. You could have your program code be encrypted with a strong algorithm, and have the decryption key implemented entirely in hardware inside the CPU. Combine this with a system that commits suicide upon detection of bridge taps on the memory bus, and you would have a system that is difficult enough that by the time someone cracks it, the election is already over.
  • wiretapped, on 07/18/2008, -0/+18The government decide who the next president is not its citizens.
  • reflectionsv37, on 07/18/2008, -2/+17I've been a software developer for nearly 35 years. I posted this http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/21/22137/105 ... at the DailyKos in November of 2006. It didn't receive much attention but it's a very plausible explanation of how a programmer can write a program that includes "real time tuning". And it's surprisingly easy to do. For a quick programming lesson and an insight into why touchscreen voting should never, ever be allowed in this country.
    • caramba420, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1Sorry, for the CTRL+V, but I think my comment is a relevant response to this, too...

      There are relatively secure systems, but I don't think the folks at Diebold really take security seriously, or they aren't talented enough. I think the problem really lies in that there isn't a linear relationship between the level of security, and how much money they make. They get their fat check regardless of the performance. Video game console manufacturers, on the other hand, immediately see a loss of profit if their system is easy to compromise.

      If the hardware was sufficiently complex, and changed every four years, like consoles do, then there would be little chance of hacking them. Yes, I do realize that game consoles are routinely hacked, but don't forget that most of these hacks require HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS that can be easily detected in an audit.

      An advantage that would exist in voting machines over game consoles is that the performance of the processor is not really all that important. You could have your program code be encrypted with a strong algorithm, and have the decryption key implemented entirely in hardware inside the CPU. Combine this with a system that commits suicide upon detection of bridge taps on the memory bus, and you would have a system that is difficult enough that by the time someone cracks it, the election is already over.
    • principle, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1It is shocking how naive people are! In most states, the recounts are done via a barcode printed on the Voter Verified Paper Trail. So the voter can verify the accuracy of the votes while the voting machine can still count and record via the barcode whatever it was programmed to do. The recount conducted using the barcode will accurately reflect the count recorded by the machine. Since the barcode is unreadable without a reader there is no way to detect this fraud without conducting a manual recount of the effected machines. Obviously, that is not going to be easy! What is needed is a secure, automated solution that does not depend on weak safeguard such as paper records, or the voters' vigilance.
  • scotq, on 07/18/2008, -3/+27Diebold is consistently in the news under speculation for voter fraud, why are there machines still in use anywhere? In case you missed this, "Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results of 2008 Election Early" http://www.theonion.com/content/video/diebold_acci ...
    • CyphreDias, on 07/18/2008, -1/+3Because the majority are too lazy and selfish to get educated and get involved.
    • CyphreDias, on 07/18/2008, -3/+4www.theonion.com is fake news in the interest of humor and satire.
      • bjornski, on 07/18/2008, -1/+3And yet it's no more outlandish than: "The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." "

        It's scary how prescient The Onion can be sometimes.
      • CiDaemon, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2Just because it's satire doesn't mean it's not relevant. The Onion's articles almost always address real issues despite the ironic, sarcastic, or satirical writing style. The point is, if the Diabold scandal is important enough to warrant satirizing, it's a big deal.
  • poprocksandsoda, on 07/18/2008, -7/+9Funny how when the paychecks stop people start talking. Can you believe people who only have something to say when the money is cut off?
  • jayscot, on 07/18/2008, -20/+1Seriously Digg...please quit.

  • Indpthinker, on 07/18/2008, -10/+1Hey I saw this movie, Man of the Year with Robin Williams.
  • darthchaosrspw, on 07/18/2008, -0/+13If it happened in Georgia in 2002, it could have theoretically happened all across the nation in 2004 and could happen again in 2008.
    • Mahstah, on 07/18/2008, -4/+3OK, but it couldn't have possibly happened in '06.

      Classic Digger.
      • pagno, on 07/18/2008, -1/+2Most likey did, but you dont need to be a dick.
    • breakdancecrew, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3It couldn't have happened in South Florida where they still have trouble counting antiquated hanging chads. In Northwest Florida, we use magic marker Scantron-looking sheets.

      Of all the techniques I've seen for casting votes, the Northwest Florida ones are my favorites. Here's what they do:
      1. The voter bubbles in circles next to names or issues with a magic marker. If there is a mistake, the voter can request the replacement ballot, and the previous one gets shredded.
      2. The voter slides the sheet into an electronic reader that tallies everything on the ballot. This can be slid into the machine face-up or face-down, so orientation isn't an issue for the technologically impaired.
      3. The electronic reader stores every ballot for the precinct in the event of a hand recount.

      During the 2000 elections, every county that used this method came to the EXACT SAME tallies for the recounts, which is obviously how it should always be.
  • wsuvtx, on 07/18/2008, -2/+9Interesting, but old news. Many news stories on this and a documentary. However, Democrats never do anything about it. You know that if the election would have swung the other way the Republicans would have been all over it.
  • vroom101, on 07/18/2008, -0/+24An electronic voting machine in the United States of America should:

    1. Print a "voter's receipt" on paper AND
    2. Be open hardware AND
    3. Be open source AND
    4. Be certified, and documented in a publicly available document, by security experts as free of bugs and backdoors.

    Then and only then should We the People of the United States of America *consider * using them in our elections.
    • kd1s, on 07/18/2008, -0/+2Know what, why don't we form a company that does just what you propose. Use off the shelf hardware, OSS and full testing and certification would be great.

      I've thought the very same thing the first time I looked at a Diebold AccuVote system. We use them in RI for those with vision or hearing problems. But it prints a ballot that can be verified in our case. And I had the opportunity to crack it open, the hardware is nothing special.

      And once I saw that machine it occurred to me that the whole damned thing could be done in a completely open fashion.

  • vexingmodstwo, on 07/18/2008, -10/+4Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the Election Committees of each state comprised of both Republicans and Democrats? And aren't these committees in charge of vetting any technology that is used in the state for elections? Are people suggesting that the Democrats on these committees are morons who can't do their jobs? What about places where Democrats win?
    • scabbers, on 07/18/2008, -1/+9From what I've seen, all politicians are corrupt morons.
    • AngryChris, on 07/18/2008, -0/+2You're wrong. In most states, the Secretary of State certifies the election results. The political party of this official is generally the same as the governor's. The Secretary of State can certify whatever election results he or she pleases.
  • JKap, on 07/18/2008, -0/+13Time to end bipartisan black-box, Stalinist-style elections once and for all. The integrity of the vote has been corrupted by the use of electronic balloting and vote-counting systems running proprietary software that cannot be audited by the public, effectively rendering the count of the vote in secret.

    The basic unit of representative democracy has been undermined. This must stop!

    Time to return to an age when elections had integrity, when all votes cast were write-in votes. Time to return to paper-balloting with the count done in public. As far as I am aware human beings can still count.

    http://digg.com/politics/HBO_Film_Hacking_Democrac ...

    http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
  • elhaf, on 07/18/2008, -0/+5Please donate to Open Voting Consortium. They are the only ones who stand a chance of overcoming this.
  • psyjoniz, on 07/18/2008, -3/+5again, i will ask : why are we still under the electoral college and not voting in real time online? seriously. why?
    • breakdancecrew, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3Here's the simple answer: The USA is a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy.

      Source:
      http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A4Sec4.html
    • darkciti2, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2Because just because the majority thinks something, doesn't make it Constitutional.

      Example: In the 60's most people thought black people shouldn't be allowed to vote. The Constitution says otherwise.

      The majority in this example, was wrong.
    • Raphae1, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1Because public supervision is impossible as soon as you eliminate paper voting. The American public needs checks and balances in a crucial issues such as voting the next POTUS.
  • psyjoniz, on 07/18/2008, -5/+3stupid ***** digg comment system doubleposting b/c it doesn't ***** work right.
  • sapphire9488, on 07/18/2008, -0/+5Even if all voting machines that are used did have a paper trail, that wouldn't ease any concerns I have for about them. It's a huge threat to a true democracy, and as long as they are being used there will always be doubt if outcomes of elections are actually genuine.

    I live in Georgia and it's infuriating to that the reason Perdue & that ***** Chambliss are in office is likely due to fraud...
    • Iztikeit, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3Any potential threat to democracy should be stopped. We have been voting with paper for how long? Minor conveniences are not worth Jeopardizing our freedom.
  • KhanneaNL, on 07/18/2008, -11/+8High treason. Death sentences or you americans are hipocrite *****.
    • Iztikeit, on 07/18/2008, -5/+2American's are lazy hypocritical *****. Lazy being the most important part of this.
    • Hangly, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3Watch me here I go, vroom.

      What, exactly, would you propose ordinary citizens do about this?
      • lessspam, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2The same thing ordinary citizens did back in 1775 against the tyrannical government of their day. They named it the UNITED States for a good reason.

        As soon as the economy crashes and we all can't even afford food or the electricity to run our computers, people will suddenly become much more inspired.
        Zionists or Zionist/Israeli sympathizers probably won't want to be seen ANYWHERE in the United States.
  • ramiro, on 07/18/2008, -13/+1BURIED AS SPAM (RawSewage.com)
    • clamhead, on 07/18/2008, -2/+1
      Buried as mindless.

      If you can't produce a citation that the article is wrong ... STFU.


    • malex, on 07/18/2008, -1/+1Person A: "Oh dear God, the building is on fire! Quickly, man, follow me to safety!"

      Ramiro: "***** off, Person A. You're a liberal and I don't listen to filthy liberals. I'm going to wait right here until Sean Hannity tells me what opinion I should have of this fire."

      Burning wall: [falls on Ramiro]
  • jeffvvisoft, on 07/18/2008, -2/+2Wow... who would have guessed...
  • paigeinphilly, on 07/18/2008, -1/+4Im not surprised...you have ATM's that give out a hard copy reciept..you have casino machines that print you out a reciept....but this "black box voting" crap...you get nothing.

    oh.. its just a vote.
    • Godpigeon, on 07/18/2008, -1/+0You really want your secret vote to be linked to you personally? Does that mean I can ask for your last voting receipt like you said before Ii do business with you?

      you're equating two totally different things as if they have the same goals. ATMs absolutely have to be linked to you as a person. Now slot machines could just spill coins if that's all they use (but a lot now are using electronic payments now themselves and again want to link to you and your account).
  • jag17, on 07/18/2008, -1/+1Why was Georgia so important in that election? A test for the next election?
  • crkbbyx, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3The real reason we can't have a paper trail: PC LOAD LETTER errors.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ8SefiNEcs
    • Starlach, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1PC LOAD LETTER ??? WTF does that even mean?
  • Iztikeit, on 07/18/2008, -0/+6Our money and votes are soon to be fully digitized and then we will have truly lost. If Thomas Jefferson feared paper money so much imagine how much he would have feared digitized money and votes?

    If the masses allow this to continue pretty soon everything will have the potential of being easily manipulated and controlled. When will we notice that such technologies aren't only convenient but potentially enslaving! What what little convenience is bestowed they serve is hardly worth potentially putting our country in ruin.

    Here are various related Thomas Jefferson quotes.

    http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jef ...
  • netsql, on 07/18/2008, -1/+5...the land of the freeeee, and the hoooome of the brrave.
    Not so much.
  • Jaguwar, on 07/18/2008, -10/+0 Blah, blah, F-word blah blah moveon.org talking point. blah blah George Bush is Hitler blah blah shredding the constitution blah blah Guantanamo fascists. Blah blah something I heard on the Daily Show blah blah F-word blah blah Huffington Post talking point, blah blah torture fascists Blah blah Fox news blah blah.

    Blah blah something my college professor with the pony tail once said blah blah Dick Cheney blah blah Abu Ghraib blah blah lied about Iraq blah blah. When will America wake up blah blah neo-cons blah blah Karl Rove blah blah NSA blah blah neo-con blah blah. fascists racist homophobic blah blah.

    Whewwww, I am drained, speaking truth to power is so exhausting, I think I will listen to the new Coldplay on my iPod, have a latte and edit my Facebook page.
    3tDaK
  • Hangly, on 07/18/2008, -0/+8Looks like every story that was ignored over the past 10 years because it was too radical, paranoid or tin-hatty will make the front page this week.

    As someone who has been researching this stuff since the late 90s I find this incredibly surreal. Great, but surreal.
  • johnmearns, on 07/18/2008, -0/+3The US population usually put convenience over security. The people that know something about IT are seldom the ones that get to make the decisions. We take the easy road and we get screwed, either with identity theft through XYZ Corp because they had a shoddy IT staff because it was cheap or had an easier to use less secure infrastructure or screwed through voting machines.

    The whining will continue, nothing will be done other than some assurances that it will be fixed to really be secure this time, rinse, repeat.
  • Habit4ming, on 07/19/2008, -0/+4Personally, I don't want any type of electric, electronic...whatever voting MACHINE. I want paper. I am more than willing to give my time for FREE to sit there and count votes...the powers that be can have as many witnesses for the COUNT as deemed necessary. I have written this to my Reps...of course, I have heard nothing back... I also recently wrote my State Reprs. to have the paper ballot issue put back on the 2009 agenda since they didn't take action in 2008....I am not the only one who is willing to COUNT paper ballots for FREE.... (the reason I bring up about counting paper ballots for free is that the argument is made that it would take too much time to count, too expensive)...and really even if it did take extra time, do we not have the right to an honest election??
  • cufford, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2The people in office (the only ones who can fix this) have no incentive to fix this. To the contrary, they depend on it being anything but fair and legitimate.

    Fox guarding hen house.
  • Khast, on 07/19/2008, -2/+1...they use a Pentium I 60MHz to tally the votes....no wonder the count is off.
  • DrWednesday, on 07/19/2008, -2/+2dugg because that movie kicked ass
  • n3mi5y5, on 07/19/2008, -2/+1Duh...
  • cyclades, on 07/19/2008, -2/+1What do you expect. Georgia did used to be part of the Soviet Union.
  • jevaun, on 07/19/2008, -1/+2Frankly the whole system needs to be overhauled. Until 1 vote is worth the same weight in _every_ state, it doesn't matter if the machines create a paper trail. The whole thing is inherently flawed.

    We do not need the Electoral College System. It's 2008 for chrissakes....
  • jei731, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2I don't understand why americans don't call and arrange for new elections. These were clearly not legal nor legitimate, and as such, can not be allowed to stand in a law abiding country. You live in a tyranny as long as you obey criminals that were elected through fraud and you will witness incredible fraud and laundering of taxpayers' money to corporations. Why don't americans stand up for themselves but put up with this?
    http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/ ...

  • Bastet62, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1SCOTUS should be impeached for handing the nation over to Bush in 2000. Robert Kennedy Jr.'s Rolling Stone article about the 2004 voting debacle in Ohio should be REQUIRED reading for every registered voter and every senior in high school.

    How can any of us know where our vote will go if we do not clean up this mess?

    I'm so sick of what this government has been allowed to get away with for almost 8 years, and I'm ashamed at the passivity displayed by my fellow Americans - too busy shopping at WalMart to give time/money/effort to drive out this despotic regime.

    IMPEACH, INVESTIGATE, INDICT, IMPRISON!
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 53 of 53 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.