The Techno-Voting Nightmare... Drip... Drip... Drip...

[WillyT]

<snip>

Imagine that a rogue programmer gets access to a few networks of computers in the California special gubernatorial election. The programmer manipulates the software to count wrong, making sure that Darrell Issa or whoever is running on the Republican ticket gets 10% more votes than the voters really gave him. This software "fix" will do it's work then delete itself. The program can be made to randomize the bogus numbers so they are a little different percentage at each voting location.

Now imagine that this is not some independently acting rogue programmer. What if he works for the company and the company is currying favor for or selling power to the candidate or even to unidentified backers-- like some of the wealthy oil people who have funded attack ads for George Bush in the past. This is no far-fetched scenario. There are a lot of us who believe it has already happened.

As a businessman with experience with software design, creation and support, I know how easy it is to change the numbers a program supplies-- the results-- by manipulating underlying aspects of the software. It's easy to do it so no end user would realize it. It's easy to do it so the evidence of manipulations, like the old Mission Impossible tape recorder, destroy themselves and disappear.

Of course there are other ways to fix elections, Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris showed us that in Florida, with Greg Palast's and Michael Moore's books spelling out the details of their vote corruption. So we need to be careful about a plethora of means the far right can and probably will use to corrupt future elections.

<snip>

More: http://www.opednews.com/Kall_computervoting2.htm

And... Notice who's site is cited at the bottom!!!

:bounce::kick::bounce:

[foo_bar]

1. there's a silver lining

rogue programmers despise authority.

[DUreader]

2. Some of them are just mercenaries

[mopaul]

3. isn't there also a connect with the religious right crazies?

seems like i've read or heard that the people who own and operate the voting machines are heavy contributors to bushco and are on the extreme far right born again fringes. heard anything about this angle?

[WillyT]

4. Yes, I've Read That Here Also !!!

Can't cite it chapter and verse (sorry about the pun), but I think Bev Harris's site has a bunch of info on that angle.

:hi:

[DrBB]

5. Howard Ahmanson, Christian Reconstruction

The Ahmanson family is heavily invested in voting machine ownership, as well as being involved in the Christian Reconstruction movement. The latter is a radical fundy sect that believes only Xians should have the vote, and just about any taliban-style repressive theocratic tenet you'd care to name. Basically they want a "Christian" version of shari'a law for the US.

[qb]

6. How about a hacker with a sense of humor

giving 51% of the vote to write-in candidate Rowen Atkinson. That ought to get an investigation started.

[sam sarrha]

7. check out these sights if you doubt tampering, involving senator Hagel

Republican senator Hagel has serious personal/financial involvement in voting machines that count 80% of his votes, just type in 'senator hagel voting machines' this is stuff that should be on CNN 24/7 instead of the crap they burry the truth with.