Miami-Dade County Hires Iowa Expert as Election Consultant

[GingerSnaps]

Miami-Dade County Hires Iowa Expert as Election Consultant
The Associated Press
Published: Aug 23, 2004

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - A University of Iowa professor whose nickname is "the Yoda of voting" has been hired as a consultant by one Florida county hoping to avoid another presidential election debacle this November.

Douglas W. Jones, an assistant professor of computer science, has emerged in recent years as a national expert on computer election systems and security. To that end, election officials in south Florida's Miami-Dade County asked for his help as they work to implement a controversial, $25 million touch-screen, paperless voting system.

Ironically, Jones is a harsh critic of touch-screen voting - which, he says, is the main reason Miami-Dade officials hired him.

"I want voting systems that you can audit with the same rigor as the books of a corporation," Jones said. "I want my vote counted as accurately as I want my bank to count my dollars, with the same quality."

Jones has served for 10 years on the Iowa Board of Examiners for Voting Machines and Electronic Voting Systems, and has done pro bono work for groups like the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, which advocates for minority voting rights. Since 2000, Jones' work has become less academic and he's emerged as a vocal proponent of secure election equipment that can be audited. That's his main problem with the touch-screen system, which lack any sort of paper trail.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGBG46L68YD.html

Looks like they are hiring an expert on touch screen voting...:shrug: