opinions-political-tobesorted

The legal system is intended to be a deterrent and a dispute resolution system of last resort, not a mediation service.

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As a graduate student trained in artificial intelligence at Stanford, it is clear to me that having electronic voting machines which do not leave a voter-verifiable paper trail are a dangerous threat to our democracy. Almost every computing system, no matter how well designed, has unintentional bugs and security holes. There will probably always be ways to crack into computerized voting systems and alter the results. The only reliable safeguard is to require the machines to produce a printout receipt of each vote, that the voter can check to make sure their vote was recorded the right way, so that the government can later recount the paper receipts to verify the accuracy of the result if an error or foul play is suspected.

In addition, it is desirable that all software used in voting machines be disclosed. When there is a security hole in a machine using "secret" software, often it is in the interests of the company that made the software to cover up the problem; companies have even been known to lie and say that certain security problems have been fixed when in fact they have not. It is desirable that the "source code" of all software used in the machines be in the public eye so that outside security experts may test if it is secure.

I've heard that

"The Voter Verification Act, introduced yesterday by Senator Bob Graham (D-Florida), would require a voter-verified paper audit trail, ban the use of 'undisclosed' software and wireless communications for voting machines, and require mandatory surprise recounts -- all in time for the November 2004 election. Rep. Holt's HR2239 in the House requires much the same thing."

Please support this important legislation!

thanks, bayle

i think most politicians want to help