SAN FRANCISCO / Voter group sues to ban touch-screen system / It's called vulnerable to hackers seeking to change results

SAN FRANCISCO / Voter group sues to ban touch-screen system.

Is it any wonder? The Diebold voting machines change long standing electoral traditon, and may be unconstitutional, in that they leave no verifiable paper trail of the vote. In many states it is illegal to use a voting system without a verifiable recount mechanism, yet Diebold machines have been deployed and used in these states anyway.

Computer consultants have extensively documented the "hackability" of these machines. In less than 10 minutes hackers paid to test the machines by the state of Maryland broke in and were able to change votes, leaving no traces or record of the changes.

I work with and computers on a daily basis. I relentlessly back up and print out my work. I am privy to a simple truth - computers fail, and a back up record is essential when they do. Why is Diebold, a Republican owned and backed company so resistant to building in a paper trail so votes can be properly counted?

Stalin said that "The people who cast the votes don't decide the election, the people who count the votes do."

I never thought I'd be saying this, but "Right on Stalin!"