Re: Diebold Admits Audit Logs in ALL Versions of Their Software Fail to Record Ballot Deletions

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Moz <list () moz geek nz>
Date: March 21, 2009 12:07:08 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:  Diebold Admits Audit Logs in ALL Versions of  
Their  Software Fail to Record Ballot Deletions

Joseph Lorenzo Hall said:
> [go paper?] we have very complicated ballots in the US with state,
> local and federal races on the same ballot. When combined with the
> mess that is our primary system, many *individual precincts/polling
> places* can have dozens of different ballot styles available.
> Counting these in a timely fashion can be very tough.

Many countries have complicated ballots. Australia has had the famous
"tablecloth ballot", where there are so many voting options for a
single race that a ballot paper just for that race becomes
ridiculously large. But they manage.

The key, in my opinion, is that elections are run by professionals.
There is a government department with permanent staff whose job is
purely the operation of the electoral system. Those officials are not
elected. There's the Australian Electoral Commission (www.aec.govt.au)
and New Zealand being smaller just has an Electoral Office in the
Ministry of Justice ( http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/). In both
countries you can also hire those people to run any election that's
worth spending the money on (some unions use them, for instance)

This means that even with relatively complex elections votes are
counted quickly and published quickly. Results that are challenged
can be delayed while a recount is done, but because the political
parties are involved as scrutineers and the referee is independent
those challenges tend to happen on the spot and are often resolved
immediately.


New Zealand has a lot of secondary things that make their elections a
model: "intention of the voter" test, elections held on weekends,
an emphasis on making it easy for people to vote (legally and in
practice), any legal resident over 18 can vote (no taxation without
representation).

Moz





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