Ahead of November election, old voting machines stir concerns among U.S. officials

[RKP5637]

SOS year after year ...

https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-election-votingmachines/ahead-of-november-election-old-voting-machines-stir-concerns-among-us-officials-idINKCN1IW173

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - U.S. election officials responsible for managing more than a dozen close races this November share a fear: Outdated voting machines in their districts could undermine confidence in election results that will determine which party controls the U.S. Congress.

In 14 of the 40 most competitive races, Americans will cast ballots on voting machines that do not provide a paper trail to audit voters’ intentions if a close election is questioned, according to a Reuters analysis of data from six states and the Verified Voting Foundation, a non-political group concerned about verifiable elections.

These include races in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Kansas and Kentucky. Nationwide, of 435 congressional seats up for grabs, 144 are in districts where some or all voters will not have access to machines using paper records, the analysis shows. While something could go wrong in any of those districts, it is in the close elections where a miscount or a perception of a miscount matters most.

Most of the dozen-plus state and local election officials interviewed by Reuters said they worry about bad actors hacking the older electronic voting machines to alter ballots, and then being unable to verify the results because there will be no paper trail. But the officials worry most about voters losing trust in elections, because officials would not be able to visibly demonstrate that the tally was indeed accurate.

[elleng]

1. No sh*t, sherlock!

[RKP5637]

3. We really do live in the land of Idiocracy. FFS! US United (gop) Stupidity. It's fixable, but all

we get is the wringing of hands.

[elleng]

5. Exactly, and been 'wringing' hands for years.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. We should go back to those old mechanical contraptions

that aren't electronically connected to anything.

[elleng]

6. YES, my first 'contraptions!'

[RKP5637]

7. Yep, my first vote was cast on one, higher than my head, all the levers. And I think a big handle

you pulled when done ... or I guess when the curtain opened, something like that.

[sarah FAILIN]

12. We use paper.

You bubble in the right choice.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. We do, too - you vote on a paper ballot which is then scanned.

I'm not sure what happens after that, though. If votes are scanned from the paper ballots are the tallies hackable when counted? Fortunately there are the paper ones to fall back on if a recount is needed - that's how Al Franken won by only about 300 votes.

[Wounded Bear]

4. Why worry? It's the best in 80's technology!

I remember after Bush II when a lot of this crap started. Most of the instruments they brought in struck me as recycled crap from the early internet age, with software based on open source systems for small businesses, at best. Unfortunately, it hasn't gotten better in a lot of places.

This shit is inexcusable.

[RKP5637]

8. And often with proprietary code. WTF! No sir, you can't examine the code, it's company

confidential/proprietary code. ... release 01.

[bearsfootball516]

9. I vote in Indiana, and the voting machines here look like they're from the 90s

[RKP5637]

10. It's amazing how antiquated the US is in so many ways. It's pathetic. n/t

[sarah FAILIN]

11. There are more important issues at hand.

A made up word promises to take us back in time and right all the wrongs of the past. Nobody had time for election issues.

[shraby]

14. PAPER/PEN; PAPER/PEN; PAPER/PEN; PAPER/PEN. Can't say this enough!

To add. HAND COUNTED; HAND COUNTED; HAND COUNTED.
In every state.