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Posted by mc on October 28, 2006, 11:04 am
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>> How can I be sure that my vote is being counted if I am casting it
>> into a black box whose internal software is a complete unknown? As
>> long as the voting machine is a closed mystery, how can we be sure
>> elections are free and fair?
Bingo.
> They could take a lesson from the gambling industry. Manufacturers of
> gambling devices used in Nevada (and elsewhere) have to meet strict
> requirements and pass thorough inspections before they can be used.
> Among other things the manufacturer has to submit both the source code
> (and all required build tools) and the executable image (which is
> retained for later verification) for analysis and testing. ...
> Believe me, the gambling industry takes "trust" seriously.
But with a voting machine, I don't want to have to "trust" a small
group of experts far away. I want a machine where there are mechanics
in every small town who can verify that it's working as intended, and
complex rigging is physically impossible in the first place.
Part of the problem with microprocessor voting machines is that they could
be rigged in very complex ways (e.g., throw the election only if the 2nd
candidate is winning after 3000 votes) so that any reasonably brief test
would not show the tampering.
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