{"id":16351,"date":"2014-11-03T14:46:59","date_gmt":"2014-11-03T19:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=16351"},"modified":"2020-12-22T05:16:06","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T10:16:06","slug":"states-junking-electronic-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=16351","title":{"rendered":"States junking electronic voting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good day all. In less then 24 hours, voting will begin to replace or confirm the current members of the House of Representatives, on third of the United States Senate and a number of governors, mayors and state legislators around the nation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One of the things that has been going on the last couple of elections is the return of paper ballots. This would seem to buck the trend of using electronic voting machines in order to \u201cSecure the vote\u201d and avoid ballot box stuffing and those wonderful \u201cHanging chads.\u201d However, as we have seen, the electronic voting machines turned out not or be either secure or reliable with a few \u201cMiscalibrated\u201d in such a way as to reward Republican votes to Democrats<\/a>. Now, states are ditching the \u201cModern\u201d voting machines and returning to the tried and true methods. Here are the details from The Hill<\/a>:<\/p>\n

States have abandoned electronic voting machines in droves, ensuring that most voters will be casting their ballots by hand on Election Day. With many electronic voting machines more than a decade old, and states lacking the funding to repair or replace them, officials have opted to return to the pencil-and-paper voting that the new technology was supposed to replace. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The location that I vote in has always used a paper ballot and a pencil. I don\u2019t know of any cities in New Hampshire that went the electronic route, although I may be mistaken.<\/p>\n

Nearly 70 percent of voters will be casting ballots by hand on Tuesday, according to Pamela Smith, president of election watchdog Verified Voting.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Paper, even though it sounds kind of old school, it actually has properties that serve the elections really well,” Smith said. It\u2019s an outcome few would have predicted after the 2000 election, when the battle over \u201changing chads\u201d in the Florida recount spurred a massive, $3 billion federal investment in electronic voting machines. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And like most federal \u201cinvestments, it was pretty much a waste of money.<\/p>\n

States at the time ditched punch cards and levers in favor of touch screens and ballot-scanners, with the perennial battleground state of Ohio spending $115 million alone on upgrades. <\/i>Smith said the mid-2000s might go down as the \u201cheyday\u201d of electronic voting.<\/i> <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yeah, about those touch screen voting machines? Those are the ones that have been having those \u201cconfiguration issues\u201d that I wrote about<\/a> a while ago. One of the reasons for these \u201cconfiguration\u201d issues is costs.<\/p>\n

Since then, states have failed to maintain the machines, partly due to budget shortfalls. \u201cThere is simply no money to replace them,\u201d said Michael Shamos, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University who has examined computerized voting systems in six states. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The lack of spending on the machines is a major problem because the electronic equipment wears out quickly. Smith recalled sitting in a meeting with Missouri election officials in 2012, where they complained 25 percent of their equipment had malfunctioned in preelection testing. \u201cYou\u2019re dealing with voting machines that are more than a decade old,\u201d Smith said. <\/i><\/p>\n

Now how many people are still using computers and cellphones from 10 or more years ago? Ok, I have a couple of computers kicking around from that era, but I don\u2019t use them for anything important. There isn\u2019t much of an outcry from the voters to upgrade\/repair these antiques either.<\/p>\n

Some voters might welcome the return to punch voting, given that researchers have repeatedly proved the fallibility of individual e-voting machines. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another issue with these machines is the ease with which they can be tampered with.<\/p>\n

One group from Princeton needed only seven minutes and simple hacking tools to install a computer program on a voting machine that took votes for one candidate and gave them to another.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gee, why does taking votes from one candidate and giving them to another sound SO familiar<\/a>?<\/p>\n

More whimsically, two researchers showed they could install Pac-Man onto a touch-screen voting machine, leaving no detectable traces of their presence. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I will be the first to admit that hundreds of people going into a voting booth and then hearing the \u201cwacka-wacka-wacka\u201d sound from Pacman<\/a> could be more entertaining then holding my nose and picking the candidate least likely to hurt me. Still, we must do our civic duties as American Citizens and elect yet another bunch of no talent, incompetent boobs to office. Having to use a voting machine that can\u2019t be trusted is not conducive to an open and honest election.<\/p>\n

But concerns of widespread tampering are overblown, Shamos said. \u201cIt\u2019s something you can demonstrate under lab conditions,\u201d he said. To translate it to an election-altering hack, \u201cyou would have to commit the perfect crime.\u201d \u201cThere’s never been a proven case of manipulation of an electronic voting machine,\u201d he said. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"nothing<\/a><\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t been reading the news ((North Carolina voters report voting machines switching their votes to GOP candidate)), ((Md. Board of Elections Probe Republican-To-Democratic Ballot Switch Claims<\/a>)), ((Illinois Voting Machines Switching Votes to the Democrat Candidate)) have you Mr. Shamos?<\/p>\n

\u201cThese machines are not hooked up or networked in any way that would make them vulnerable to external access,\u201d said Matt McClellan, press secretary for the Ohio Secretary of State. \u201cWe\u2019re confident that process is secure and the integrity is being maintained.\u201d <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no mechanism whereby viruses can pass from one machine to another,\u201d Shamos agreed. Best case scenario, \u201cmaybe I could fool a few people\u201d and get several hundred votes \u201cfor my guy.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

Really? No possible way? How about the people who are doing the testing, repairs and certifications? They could hand load a virus into the machines to reprogram them at a specific time. And before you say that can\u2019t be done, you might want to ask the Iranians about their centrifuges and the Stuxnet virus. If they are patching and upgrading, even the techs doing the actual wouldn\u2019t have to be \u201cIn on it.\u201d All it would take is someone gaining access to their tools and software patches and \u201cCongratulations President Elect Obama!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"something-smells-fishy-and-it-certainly-isnt-fish\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Then there is the problem of an audit trail. How do you proves the vote is actually real? That requires, wait for it, a paper receipt of some sort that the election monitors can look at.<\/p>\n

An electronic machine in North Carolina lost roughly 4,500 votes in a 2004 statewide race after it simply stopped recording votes. The race was ultimately decided by fewer than 2,000 votes. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cNow what do you do?\u201d Smith asked. \u201cYou can\u2019t really do a recount. There\u2019s nothing to count.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

Within a year, the state passed a law requiring a paper backup. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paper trails are simply \u201cmore resilient,\u201d Smith said. <\/i><\/p>\n

Hey, I know! How about we use a far more resilient system? We can use \u201cPaper Ballots!\u201d While I don\u2019t really have a problem with electronic voting, experience has shown that the systems just aren\u2019t ready fro prime time. They aren\u2019t trustworthy, they break down easily and they are expensive to buy and maintain. Security on them can be a nightmare. With a paper ballot, you can easily verify the votes.<\/p>\n

First, when the ballot boxes are brought into the polls, they are opened and physically examined with witnesses and cameras to show they are empty. They are then closed up and sealed with some sort of marker to show they have been checked and verified as empty and then placed under guard. I have perfect man for the job too.<\/p>\n

\"chuck<\/a><\/p>\n

The ballot counters are a time tested system, either mechanical or physical. If a recount is required, well, you have the physical ballots and you can either rescan them or manually check them. It works and with modern security systems, you can tell if someone is trying to stuff them. Paper ballots and mechanical voting machines are also totally immune to Solar flares and EMP ((Electromagnetic pulse<\/a>)) attacks. And to make sure people don\u2019t try and vote twice, first mandatory voter ID, then make use of the \u201cPurple Finger ((Purple Revolution<\/a>))\u201d when a voter submits his or her ballot.<\/p>\n

Thatisall<\/p>\n

~The Angry Webmaster~<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

[yasr_visitor_votes size=”medium”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Good day all. In less then 24 hours, voting will begin to replace or confirm the current members of the House of Representatives, on third of the United States Senate and a number of governors, mayors and state legislators around the nation. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,8,57],"tags":[11,186,56,222,8,57],"class_list":["post-16351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-of-the-day","category-politics","category-technology","tag-america","tag-election","tag-fraud","tag-good-idea-fairy","tag-politics","tag-technology"],"views":1149,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33223,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=33223","url_meta":{"origin":16351,"position":0},"title":"Well, well well. Confirmation that voting machines were rigged","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"December 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all. This story has just broken so things are still in flux. However, an audit of the Dominion voting machines in a county in Michigan has come up with serious evidence of structural deficiencies. That\u2019s my way of saying rigged. As I mentioned, this story just broke yesterday,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime"","block_context":{"text":"Crime","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/not-shocked-face.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42160,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=42160","url_meta":{"origin":16351,"position":1},"title":"Expert proves in court that Dominion machines easily hacked","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"February 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all. One of the major discussions regarding the Tainted Election of 2020 was the security of the ballots, especially those cast electronically using Dominion voting machines. Many people have said that the machines could be hacked and the votes changed. There have been major fights and court actions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero"","block_context":{"text":"Hero","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=181"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hack-machines-pen.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hack-machines-pen.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hack-machines-pen.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hack-machines-pen.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23038,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=23038","url_meta":{"origin":16351,"position":2},"title":"Democrats haven\u2019t learned the first rule of holes","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"December 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Which is, \u201cwhen you find yourself in one, STOP DIGGING!\u201d Good day all. The Progressive Liberal Democrats are still in denial over the crushing defeat of their candidate, Felonia von Pantsuit. Now, they are demanding an audit of the presidential election. The demand is in the form of a petition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Moonbat"","block_context":{"text":"Moonbat","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=100"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/holes-300x184.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16280,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=16280","url_meta":{"origin":16351,"position":3},"title":"Democrats: Commit election fraud early and often","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"October 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all. Now that the 2014 midterm election is a week away, we are beginning to see the Democrats in full fraud mode with the early voting. First we have Illinois, (No surprise there), and then we have Maryland. Early voting kicked off in some areas last week. Almost\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News of the Day"","block_context":{"text":"News of the Day","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=71"},"img":{"alt_text":"dead voter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/dead-voter-255x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":34519,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=34519","url_meta":{"origin":16351,"position":4},"title":"DoJ objecting to Arizona\u2019s ballot audit of 2020 election","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"May 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all. The presidential election of 2020 has many millions of Americans demanding to know if it was an actual, honest election or if it was stolen in favor of Dementia Joe Biden and Blow Job Harris. I won\u2019t bother going over all the things that make any sane\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime"","block_context":{"text":"Crime","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.pinimg.com\/originals\/9b\/b4\/ce\/9bb4ce0917646df3d56c5d944f7d2d5e.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33226,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=33226","url_meta":{"origin":16351,"position":5},"title":"Amistad Project now seeks to audit all the Dominion machines","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"December 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all. The news that broke from Michigan that the Dominion voting machines had been rigged from the get go is being buried by the Democratic CommuNazi Propaganda Corps. However, even though they refuse to report it, the story is building. Now the Amistad Project is working to preserve\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime"","block_context":{"text":"Crime","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/nothing-to-see-here-300x191.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16351"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33267,"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351\/revisions\/33267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}