Time for Open Voting
Political historians will tell you that voting by machines has always been a problem. Even back in 1942, the debate about the worthiness of mechanical devices to register the will of the people was severely questioned:
... first tried out in 1915 & the experiment was such a failure that it looked as if the town would never have anything to do with them. 10 years later, Mr. Eugene Eisinger, Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Repairs for the Board of Elections got permission to buy 75 machines of an improved type. Harold Ross, The Talk of the Town, "Political Machine," The New Yorker, October 24, 1942
Of course, the 2000 Presidential Election brought the issue into high focus, and it's caused me to write a series of articles about the topic in my columns at MC Press Online. These included:
The problem of voting machines goes well beyond the ability of the equipment, but strikes at the heart of our democratic values. For instance, if the technology we use to measure our democracy stands between the will of the people, it is absolutely essential that this technology is transparent, accurate, and is not beholding to any particular individual, group, organization, or party.
Why?
Because each time a citizen registers his or her vote, that vote is a voice that must be acknowledged and accepted as "valid", regardless of the rules, regulations of those in power. Freedom, without a voice to shape one's own destiny, goes against the principles our our constitution.
During the last presidential election I had the true priviledge of working as a Poll Watcher in the state of Pennsylvania. I wrote a long, mournful account of that experience on my personal blog, In View of Others, entitled Explosive Tonga - Volcanoes and Riots and Democracy
What people in the U.S. often fail to recognize is how absolutely precious the right to vote appears to the citizens of other nations. And if we must use technology to exercise that right, we had better be certain that the technology is not being subverted.
For that reason, I am hopeful that -- despite whatever trials and tribulations result in the delivery of the votes in this election -- we will begin to address the issue of e-Voting with new technologies that are free to all, open to inspection, and owned by no individual, organization or group.
With these thought in mind, I hope you will join me in supporting the Open Voting Consortium (OVC).
What is OVC?
OVC develops and promotes a new concept/process for election administration. If realized, this idea will mean we will have a publicly-owned and publicly-administered voting system. Your right to a secret ballot will be preserved while everything else about the system will be public.
Once established, OVC will serve as a hub for delivering services needed to help make secured open voting work. OVC will never sell technology. The software is free, and necessary hardware can be purchased anywhere.
Stops Secrecy in Vote Tabulation: OVC has a team of scientists ready to program computer software for voting machines and electoral tabulation that would be publicly owned or open source. Open source software could be checked by any party or group by hiring a capable computer programmer.
Provides Paper Trail: The OVC recommended procedure for tabulating elections relies on a paper ballot that is then fed through a scanner into a locked ballot box so that all originals are saved in case of the need for a recount or audit.
Scientifically Verifiable: In addition to open source voting machine and tabulation software, the Open Voting Consortium is also working on a database checklist for standard practices in vote tabulation that would assure transparency and accountability.
Saves Money: Typical voting machines cost between $2,000 and $3,000, but OVC open source software could be run on any personal computer (PC) and ballots could be printed on a normal printer. OVC envisions PCs with tamper-proof cases as the new voting terminals at a savings of hundreds or thousands of dollars per terminal.
Multi-lingual, Handicap Accessible, and Ready for Non-Traditional Voting: Unlike most voting machines and systems, the OVC system can be easily adapted for ballots in multiple languages. The OVC system also provides for the capability for sight impaired or blind voters to have their votes played back to them through headphones at the ballot box.
Doesn't this sound like something worthwhile?
We can't take the politics out of democratic election process, but we can open up the election mechanisms so that citizens can regain their trust in the mechanisms themselves.
Take a look at the OVC's Website . See if you agree with their goals. And maybe next election cycle we can see a more transparent process that better safeguards our sacred voices.
Or, consider "The Alternative ".