[atlarge-discuss] FYI: E-voting concerns in the U.S. - NetAction on ACM's FAQ

[espresso@e-scape.net]

Just in case anyone was wondering why I think it's unwise to
simply delegate one's elections to an e-voting provider
without first examining the service from all angles.

Meanwhile, a message received off-list in response to my
request for guidance suggested that we might do well to
ask Elizabeth Porteneuve of the DNSO to run our upcoming
elections and Karl Auerbach to be custodian of our
membership list.

Pros and cons I can see at first glance:

PRO - the DNSO process is already defined and tested,
      apparently to most people's satisfaction
    - Karl Auerbach will be the first person beatified if
      Internet users ever decide to elevate people to sainthood
    - even Jeff Williams would be hard-pressed to come up
      with an objection vilifying the two people mentioned.

CON - we'd be no nearer to developing our own mechanisms
      and processes for the future organization
    - it would lend support to the notion that one can
      expect members to make good collective decisions in
      the absence of any faith in their fellow-members or
      mechanism by which they can make their decisions

Your opinions would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Judyth

---Fwd from NetAction Notes <http://www.netaction.org>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>Will The U.S. Be Counting or Ignoring Your Votes Electronically?
>
>The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) recently published a
>Frequently Asked Questions about electronic voting systems that
>deserves your attention. ACM, comprised of computing professionals
>from academia, industry and government, offers unbiased technical
>expertise to assist policy makers in the development of computing and
>information technology policy. The gist of the FAQ, as noted by
>co-author David Dill, is:
>
>   "Do not be seduced by the apparent convenience of "touch-screen
>voting" machines, or the "gee whiz" factor that accompanies flashy
>new technology.  Using these machines is tantamount to handing
>complete control of vote counting to a private company, with no
>independent checks or audits.  These machines represent a serious
>threat to democracy.  Much better alternatives are available for
>upgrading voting equipment."
>
>The bottom line, says ACM, is that electronic voting machines must
>provide a voter-verifiable audit trail. Why are we talking about this
>now? Many states are buying these systems in large numbers, and will
>be using them in upcoming elections, whether the machines and
>processes are ready or not.
>
>You can find the FAQ at http://verify.stanford.edu/EVOTE/faq.html
>and more information, announcements, statements from several noted
>computer professionals, and news updates at:
>http://verify.stanford.edu/evote.html.
>ACM's website is at http://acm.org/, their public policy work is at
>http://www.acm.org/usacm/.
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>About NetAction Notes
>
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##########################################################
Judyth Mermelstein     "cogito ergo lego ergo cogito..."
Montreal, QC           <espresso@e-scape.net>
##########################################################
"A word to the wise is sufficient. For others, use more."
"Un mot suffit aux sages; pour les autres, il en faut plus."
##########################################################



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