Voting Integrity Forum

Yesterday's Voting Integrity Forum was successful and informative beyond my wildest expectations. About 100 people came out on a rainy, muggy Monday night to hear a series of riveting talks and panel discussion on electronic voting.

The overwhelming conclusion is that electronic voting is extremely vulnerable to error, fraud, hacking, trojan horses, viruses, etc. Some fascinating facts:

• Mercer Co. PA's touch-screen machines malfunctioned and wiped out votes last November. These machines were decertified, leaving Mercer and two other counties with the same system having to scramble to re-deploy their old lever machines. In other words, if an electronic system in one county fails, all other counties using the same system have to scrap theirs too. Article:
• Touch-screen systems, besides being extremely vulnerable to error and fraud, are expensive and only last about 5 years
• Scanners, or bar code readers would be the safest, cost much less than touch screens and last two to four times as long. They could be made relatively safe with a precinct based, voter verifiable, dual paper receipt system.
• Old lever machines will last 150 years and are the most reliable of all. And contrary to current urban legend, replacement parts are still available
• Sticking with the old lever system does not incur a federal penalty. It simply means giving up federal subsidies, which are intended to reimburse for the cost of new machines, but in fact reimburse for only about one half the initial cost, and provide no funds five years later when the machines need replacement.

Speakers included:
Rebecca Mercuri, PhD in computer science.Her statement on electronic voting:
Teresa Hommel, computer professional and election intergity activist. Her online demonstration of electronic voting: