State Election Law Allows Public Inspection of Ballots Boxes

Every state still has within their election code a provision that allows public observers the right to inspect physical ballot box containers and paper ballots before the polls open on Election Day. (Example: New Hampshire Election Code Section 658:36 Inspection of Ballot Box – At the opening of the polls, the ballot box shall be publicly opened and shown to be empty; and the election officers shall ascertain that fact by a personal examination of the box. eff. July 1, 1979) Every state still has within their election code a provision that allows public observers to watch election clerks open physical ballot box containers and count the paper ballots at the end of the election day.

Each and every DRE voting machine contains a software program that builds and displays the ballot image on its touch screen. Each and every DRE voting machine contains a software program that reads and stores in memory each voter's touch screen ballot voting selections. The software code together with the data storage drives and PC cards in each and every DRE voting machine is the equivalent of physical ballot box containers and paper ballots. Why can't judges, (i.e. Florida Circuit Court Judge William L. Gary who denied the plaintiffs motion to allow review of the source code for the paperless touch-screen machines used in the contested U.S. House race in Florida's 13th district between Democrat Christine Jennings and Republican Vern Buchanan) and lawmakers (i.e. House committee members who marked up House Resolution 811 to specifically deny the public’s right to inspect DRE ballot creation and counting software) understand the simply fact that the software code together with the data storage drives and PC cards in each and every DRE voting machine IS at once both the BALLOT and THE BALLOT BOX and the voting public has a right to inspect the ballot boxes and ballots both before and after each election?

Ballot box inspection laws are on the book of every state because in the past political partisans are known to have stuffed ballot boxes in a wide variety of ways. Why do judges and lawmakers think that political partisans will not and cannot stuff the DRE software ballot box. Stuffing the DRE software ballot box is so much easier than stuffing the old ballot box containers on election day.

It is so easy for any one of the small army of different computer programmers who writes code destined to run on each and every DRE system to stuff the software ballot box.

There are DRE system manufacture programmers that continually write code to fix software bugs and enhance system function. Then, typically local temporary contractor programmer are hired to install the software updates on the DRE's. Then, maybe, somebody else tests each and every DRE after the software updates are installed.

Typically local temporary contractor programmers are hired in each local election jurisdiction to write software that codifies all the all the ballots for the jurisdiction for a particular election. (This is the ballot image voters see on the DRE touch screen) These same local temporary contractor programmers then load the ballot software on each and every DRE machine. Then, maybe, the same contract programmers or somebody else tests each and every DRE.

Local election officials are not computer scientists and many have trouble even using the PC on their desk. They cannot adequately assess the competence and veracity lof ocal temporary contractor programmers. In actually they cannot verify that a contractor programmer's work is bug free or that they did not nefariously write ten lines of software that activates on election day to flip votes or rigs vote totals on a central tabulator and then self delete at the end of the election day.

So many computer programmers at different levels and so many DRE machine software updates. It is so easy for a political partisan to plant a few willing temporary contractor programmers in several key election jurisdictions to stuff the software ballot box. Or even just a few motivated partisan programmers working on their own could easily throw an election.

by Runner (9 articles, 34 quicklinks, 47 diaries, 33 comments) on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 10:08:52 AM
 

This statement is as close to perfect as it gets.

Thank you.  I can't amplyfy or comment.  This is comprehensive. 

by Michael Collins (87 articles, 13 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 327 comments) on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 11:52:29 PM