Re: BBV update: Embezzler programmed system to connect ballots to voter

[tom bldr <tom_bldr@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thank you Ralph. I'd also like to have the paper
ballots be the primary, if not only, means of
counting. Bev Harris' spiel today gives a nice
proposed laundry list of rigorous audit procedures in
cases where black boxes with voter verified paper
audit trails are used. I'll leave it to readers to
check out at http://www.blackboxvoting.org

Agreeing with Bev Harris that numerous, rigorous audit
procedures need to be in place to impede blackbox
shenanigans. So we'll have an imminently more
procedurally complex, costly and man-hour intensive
process than we had before the "blackbox solution".
We'll be chasing our tails for years working out the
20/20 hindsight problems with blackbox voting, then
again to remedy the new problems introduced by the
earlier remedys, with the costs, and the stakes, being
just flat too high. 

I say, cut the blackbox out of the ballot casting and
counting loop entirely. Any "computer role" should be
limited to nothing more than relatively "dumb" ballot
marking devices, helping the voter avoid
overvote/undervote/ poorly-drawn-line errors. The
voter holds their completed ballot in their hand,
inspects it, and drops it in the ballot box;
whereafter ALL counting is based on the paper ballots
alone. To me, the mere expense of employing relatively
dumb electronic/computerized ballot marking devices
just to reduce voter error rates a point or two is not
worth it, again, given that the error rates should be
spread relatively evenly across parties/choices. But
if Congress has tax dollars burning a hole in their
pocket for "election improvement", then "dumb" paper
ballot marking assistance devices should be the extent
of it. K.I.S.S.

As Cringely notes in Part 1 article above, IT projects
(like our black box voting fiasco) fail all the time.
So do other big guvment projects (can you say
Pentagon? Osprey?). Lets apologize sweetly to Diebold
and company for yanking their chains with deeply
flawed & and short lived legislation, repeal HAVA, and
go with simple, best of breed paper ballot
technology... indefinately. Save tax dollars, restore
voter confidence. 

As Bev Harris appeals, HR2239 and the slow as
mollasas, partisan divided congress will not save us..
certainly not in time. We need court injunctions. For
that we need lawyers. The case against blackbox DREs
is there, it's solid, it's documented ad nausium, and
Harris is there to help 24/7. 

Is there a lawyer in the house? Colorado was one of
the handful of states she singled out as high-need.


Tom Rategan

--- Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Dear Tom and all:
> 
> On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 12:28:58 -0800 (PST), you wrote:
> 
> [snip]
> 
> > ... We need to go back to paper
> >ballots, hand-counted, for the primaries and we
> need
> >to jump on that now. 
> >
> 
> [snip]
> 
> It is extremely gratifying to see that an apparently
> radical solution to
> this problem is getting more and more adherents.
> 
> It really is just about the only solution.
> 
> 
> My personal preference is for a (quick) non-binding
> machine count followed
> by (several days/weeks later) a binding hand count.
> 
> People check the machines.  Machines check the
> people.
> 
> Ralph Shnelvar


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