Hack the Vote

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Posted by Connor on November 2nd, 2006

With election day right around the corner, I wonder to myself what the outcome will be, and if it will be a fabricated outcome or not. The electronic voting machines are hardly reliable, and part of me wonders if the votes here in Utah will be tampered.

Impossible, you say? Watch this video and then tell me if you still think so:

It happened in Ohio. It can happen in Utah. To feel better about not letting my vote be hacked, I ordered an absentee ballot for this election. We’ll soon see what the outcome of all of this is…

UPDATE: ArsTechnica has a great article on this subject: “Primary and early e-voting problems point to gathering storm”

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3 comments so far. Care to chime in?

Connor,

I doubt you will have to worry about your vote being hacked in Utah; it is a Republican stronghold. They don’t need to steal votes there. However, here in Pennsylvania, I am extremely worried about this possibility. If Chris Carney (PA 10) does not beat Don Sherwood, and if Rick Santorum beats Bob Casey for Senate, then I will cry foul, because at this point, they are both losing badly in the polls. When I go to vote, I will request a paper copy of my vote. I just cannot trust an electronic machine with something this important.

#1 Dan | November 2nd, 2006 1:05 PM

Who says that only Republicans would steal votes?

Also, requesting a paper copy of your vote (or, like I’m doing, voting en absentee) doesn’t prevent the outcome from being hacked. I highly doubt they’re going to go door to door and check the paper trail for the election in case of a dispute.

#2 Connor | November 2nd, 2006 1:12 PM

The outcry needs to be long and loud against electonic voting. In Utah there will supposedly be a paper receipt, but in republican red Utah, there will be no need for a paper trail anyway. But I understand other states where the vote is closer, there will not be a paper trail. I voted absentee not because I will be absent, but because I wanted my vote to actually count. But, I realize that there will be some clerk reading my handwritten vote and entering that data into one of those black boxes. Pres. Benson said that we can know when our democracy is hanging by the way our votes are counted. He said that our right to vote is “the thread.” I think his view on this is now proving prophetic. I saw the movie Man of the Year starring Robin Williams last night. Everyone should see it.

#3 Kelly Winterton | November 2nd, 2006 1:13 PM