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Tag(s): Bucks; Congress; Discrimination; Florida; Ohio; Pennsylvania; State; Truth; Voting
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April 3, 2008 at 10:17:11

Helpless, Helpless, Helpless

by Marta Steele Page 2 of 2 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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This scenario is worse than precinct-based tabulation, he said. With 90 percent of votes in Pennsylvania now paperless, there is no way to know if any of them is worth a scratch on a pebble, and this plight in a swing state could rock the nation, as did Florida and Ohio most famously.

In a Lincoln-esque mood, Mary Ann called this situation “faith-based elections.”

The power is with the programmers, not with the people, continued Clint. The commissioners really have nothing to worry about broken voting-machine seals, he said. First you perform an accuracy test and run the tapes and then seal the whole thing up. Magnets and power surgers . . . anything can affect the touchscreens.

Remember the machines in North Carolina that reached a certain total and then began counting backwards? The fault was in the program—the wrong one was used. The backward-counted votes could be interpreted as undervotes also, Clint answered to Lori Rosolowsky’s question.

And, back to Bucks County, where the two Republican commissioners argue that a paper trail resides inside their Danahers, Clint explained that a computer won’t generate a log—people do. The programmer owns every component of the voting system.

An internal hack is worse than an external one, continued Clint. On a Danaher, the virus will attack the server. External hacks are performed with the network card, the famous black-box skullduggery.

Helpless, helpless, helpless—remember that old sixties song? We must show up at the polls in stampeding proportions—united we stampede?

Is the conclusion of the evening that the fate of the nation lurks within the brains and preferences of computer programmers?

Not exactly. The power is still, somewhere, with the people, dormant and quiet as Mary Ann calls her home state. The truth will need some buckshot to emerge from this ethical swamp in the Buckeye State.

This is the time, then, not to mourn for HR 5036, but to get everyone to vote absentee, I say. If the ballots get hacked, the hackers will have a hard time of it with all the election protection united against them. There will be mountains of paper ballots. We can distribute stamps. We can go door to door. We can fight racism and discrimination, as usual.

But there’s no time to waste on tears right now, but think of the paper mountains and what a boost not only USPS will receive, but all of us, back to paper at last. Helpless, helpless, helpless let the opposition be, for a change, and stay that way.

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3 comments

Mark is an anti-civilizationist in San Diego.
Mark E. SmithMark is an anti-civilizationist in San Diego.

Clueless, clueless, cluelesss

Marta, it doesn't matter if you vote absentee or at the polls, by machine or on paper. The problem isn't how you CAST your vote. We trust you to vote for the person you want.

The problem is in how the votes are COUNTED. And when they are counted by computerized central tabulators, as more than 80% of U.S. votes are (no matter how they are cast), then you have a faith-based election where you can never be sure that your vote was counted accurately. Only the programmer knows for sure, and their program leaves no traces.

Do you even know the electors you'll be voting for in November? Does your state allow you to vote for electors? Our Constitution does not allow us to vote directly for President and Vice-President. Their names are on the ballots to fool you. Only the Electoral College can vote for Pres. & Veep. In Bush v. Gore 2000 the Supreme Court found that there is no federal Constitutional right for citizens to vote for Electors, and that it is up to the states. If your state allows you to vote for Electors, does your political party do so, or have they appointed Electors?

Besides, even if you could vote for Electors, and even if your ballot was counted accurately, it is up to Congress to decide whether or not to accept the Electoral votes, and the Supreme Court could still intervene and overrule them.

It is the obligation of an informed electorate to educate themselves. If you don't know who you're REALLY voting for, or who has the final say in our elections, even getting rid of the voting machines and tabulators won't help you.

Everyone needs to study the Constitution, to learn for themselves that it does not allow for transparent participatory democracy, and then find out how things work in REAL democracies where the people can directly elect (and directly impeach if necessary) their leaders. Then we can all work together towards a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Until then, we will keep wondering why the military-industrial complex keeps getting U.S. leaders who favor its agenda rather than the general welfare of our citizens.

In some states, Marta, absentee ballots don't even have to be counted at all. Check it out.

by Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 28 quicklinks, 72 diaries, 896 comments) on Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 11:29:13 PM

Marta Steele is a writer/editor/blogger/sometime professor/indexer/proofreader extremely concerned that our democracy is going to pot and using all my skills, including some knowledge of some foreign languages, to try to make things better. I blog several times a week on peace and election protection, among other issues.
Marta SteeleMarta Steele is a writer/editor/blogger/sometime professor/indexer/proofreader extremely concerned that our democracy is going to pot and using all my skills, including some knowledge of some foreign languages, to try to make things better. I blog several times a week on peace and election protection, among other issues.

Helpless, Clueless

Mark,

Thanks for your insightful comment. You're right, of course, but we must continue to work with what we have, which are human beings, not saints. According to your logic, (again, I must read it more thoroughly), all elections we've ever had are questionable and we have lucked out every once in a while, with a good chief exec etc., if only by accident.

I have to run to work but I'll get back to you later.

Thanks again,

Marta

by Marta Steele (27 articles, 0 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 27 comments) on Friday, April 4, 2008 at 7:04:17 AM

A Clue

Mark,

I went back to your missive and deeply appreciate your insights--it must be hard to live with them and awfully hard not to believe in the Constitution, which the Bushocracy is so mangling.

Do you vote?

I myself have opposed voting by mail, tho a few states do, and successfully. But at this point, with what we've got and must work with (again, I prefer Edwards and fear Obama), I think a stampede of absentee ballots (with some emergency legislation if necessary) would greatly help the economy--think of all the extra people the p.o. would have to hire and one or another municipality would have to pay to count votes. What a celebration that democracy lives--one person, one vote. Do I sound like Hubert Humphrey? I would fight any attempt to waylay absentee votes to the Internet, which is probably what would happen.

Call me a dreamer but I love walking through each day and loving this country.

Thanks again. Keep those comments coming.

Marta

by Marta Steele (27 articles, 0 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 27 comments) on Friday, April 4, 2008 at 5:24:43 PM

3 comments

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