Most of us have had problems with our computers. We've heard about hackers, we've suffered from computer glitches and we've had hard drives crash. If you haven't, you're lucky, but you probably know someone who has had one of those three problems.
So what would happen in the US if we convert to electronic voting? Would this resolve the problems of chads? Not as practiced currently in the US according to the film Electile Dysfunction.
This isn't just a rabble of ranting radicals. Director Penny Little includes a diverse spectrum of people speaking out against the unchecked problems of electronic voting in this 55-minute investigative report. You hear from California Senator Barbara Boxer, former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, the ACLU of Florida, the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, investigative journalists Greg Palast and Danny Schechter, computer scientists and security experts Dr. Avi Rubin and David Dill, Rev. Jesse Jackson and others.
There is even the testimony of a man who claims he was hired to help rig an election. This whistleblower later, as you might expect, lost his job.
Perhaps the main point for any concerned voter, no matter what your political party might be, is this: should we expect fewer checks and balances for our election systems then we would expect for our bank accounts?
Currently, some of the footage is available online. You can buy the DVD directly from the site.
The DVD was produced by the media activist groups Take Back the Media and People to People TV. According to their estimates, about 30 percent of Americans used electronic voting machines in 2004 and in most cases, the previous problems have not been addressed at all. This number will increase as will the magnitude of the problems.
Computers have a great potential for both opportunity and disaster.
Article comments
1 - Penny Little
Hi, thanks for the positive review! This is information every American needs to know. It's a shame that the mainstream corporate media hasn't picked up on the story of how elections can be stolen. It's not a partisan issue. This is something which involves the foundation of our democracy -- the right to vote and have our votes count!
I notice that one of the links is broken, and the link as to where to buy the film goes to a site where the film cannot be purchased. You can find the film and more info about the film at electile-dysfunction.com.
Thanks again