Voting in the Sunshine
There's a fellow in Tallahassee named Ion Sancho, the elections supervisor for Leon County, Florida. He pissed off a lot of powerful people last December when he allowed independent testing of the electronic voting machines certified for use in Florida. There wouldn't have been a problem, except that the tests showed that it was almost trivial to hack the machines to change vote results.
Predictably, all three voting machine companies permitted by the state to sell voting equipment in Florida have come up with reasons why they can't do business with Leon County. Additionally, pressure is being applied to remove Sancho from office, to the point that at the start of Sunshine Week — our annual tribute to the fairy tale that Florida governance takes place under public scrutiny — the Secretary of State decided to hold a meeting with Sancho behind closed doors. What effect this will have is questionable, since Leon County voters really like Ion's fierce independence.
If you live in Florida and would like the attorney general to investigate the probable collusion between ES&S, Diebold, and Sequoia, then please take a moment to read this PDF file from the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, then visit the attorney general's site to get a copy of the complaint form. If you want to learn more about this business, here are a few links to get you started.
- Washington Post: Election Whistle-Blower Stymied by Vendors
- Miami Herald: More election shenanigans in Sunshine State
- CBS News: Florida County Supervisor Draws Criticism
- Tallahassee Democrat: Florida county supervisor draws fire in quest to ensure valid elections
If you aren't familiar with the troubling nature of electronic voting in the US, I recommend taking a look at these watchdog and activist sites.
If you live in the south Florida area and are interesting in helping keep elections free and fair and auditable, consider dropping in on an MDERC meeting. The all-volunteer group has been fighting the good fight for several years now, and has made a name for itself at the national level for its tireless investigation of the shadowy and Byzantine labyrinth behind our voting process. They are a thoroughly non-partisan group, with members from at least four political parties that I know of, and many others without a defined party affiliation.
While Florida may be one of the national leaders in corruption and governmental malfeasance, I'm certain the rest of the country will follow closely behind. (I'm looking at you, Ohio.) This is a story which we all should follow.
1 Comments:
So I was talking to my mom one day before the last presidential election, and I mentioned that I was really concerned about these new electronic voting machines. My mom knows that I am generally a fan of anything technological designed to make manual processes easier and asked why.
"Well, the machines are closed source, which means no one independent can examine the programming to ensure that they do what the company says they do. Meanwhile, they're based on Windows, and you know how secure Windows has been lately."
My mother the Windows user said, "Oh, that doesn't seem good for voting machines."
"Right, and did I mention that the head of the company that makes the machines is a major Republican contributor and said a while back at a fundraiser that he's sure that Ohio's electoral votes can be delivered to George Bush?"
My mother the Republican said, "Oh, not good."
"Yeah, and that's the guy whose word we're supposed to take that these voting machines are secure and will render the votes accurately."
"I see. That IS a problem."
If only everyone saw the issues so plainly.
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