Thanks Aaman - I heard a very good piece on this on the local NPR station about this and the central thesis was that since every county in Ohio had two Republican and two Democratic representatives on the election boards, that the Democrats would have had to be in on the "fix" for there to have been any kind of widespread fraud. This is preposterous

Indeed, oppo-sames - as a writer once put it.

the disconnect is that there will always be a certain percentage of error - if humans are involved (and that includes making and maintaining machines), then there will be errors. The key is to keep the errors well under the margin of victory, to address systemic issues, and to have a back-up system (i.e. paper trail until someting better comes along) in place for when absolute precision becomes paramount, as in very close races

I'd like to reference the FAQ on EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) by the Indian government, which ran a relatively uncontroversial electronic election earlier this year - posted by me on my blog on 11/2/2004

Q17. Wherever an election petition is filed, the result of the election is subject to the final outcome. The courts, in appropriate cases, may order a recount of votes. Whether EVMs can be stored for such a long time and whether the result can be taken in the presence of the officers authorised by Courts? Will not the battery leak or otherwise damage EVMs?

Ans. The battery is required only to activate the EVMs at the time of polling and counting. As soon as the polling is over, the battery can be switched off and this will be required to be switched on only at the time of counting. The battery can be removed as soon as the result is taken and can be kept separately. Therefore, there is no question of battery leaking or otherwise damaging EVMs. Even when the battery is removed the memory in the microchip remains intact. If the Court orders a recount, the Control Unit can be reactivated by fixing the battery and it will display the result stored in the memory.


Q18. Is it possible to vote more than once by pressing the button again and again.

Ans. No

As soon as a particular button on the Balloting Unit is pressed, the vote is recorded for that particular candidate and the machine gets locked. Even if one presses that button further or any other button, no further vote will be recorded. This way the EVMs ensure the principle of "one man, one vote".

excellent info, thanks

Having intimate knowledge of one of the two party's involved, my money is on 'publicity stunt'.

Respectfuly, having no intimate knowledge of your intimate knowledge, your comment means nothing.

Which one? What's the deal?

I got this big long drawn out e-mail from the Libertarian Party, basically telling me that it wasn't the parties doing, it was Badnarik himself that signed up for this recount deal. If you'd like a copy let me know and I'll forward it.