[Send Him a 'Thank You!']
By Brad Friedman on 6/6/2006, 3:59pm PT  

This was buried in the earlier piece concerning Lou Dobb's coverage of Electronic Voting in which his report alleges that these machines and the private company's that now control our vote are a "threat to democracy". But the later CNN segment with Jack Cafferty deserves to be front and center.

Said Cafferty yesterday (complete must-read transcript of the segment is below!):

"The arguments against the machines include these: they're vulnerable to software tampering, they don't keep an easily recountable printed record, and they may miscount, switch or not record votes at all. Other than that, they're great.

Defenders of these machines say that most of the problems occur because of hasty setup or poor training of poll workers. What's the message there, that it's OK as long as it's one of those two reasons?"

THANK GOD someone in the MSM finally gets it! Lord knows Wolf doesn't! See the full transcript below for answers from emailers to Cafferty's question-of-the-day yesterday: "Do you trust the honesty of America's election process?"

Regular BRAD BLOG readers won't be surprised at the answers sent in. Only that CNN actually read them on air! (Thank you, Jack Cafferty!)

...CONTACT...
Email: caffertyfile@CNN.com
Or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR:Electronic voting machines are under attack. No surprise given the controversy over the outcomes of the last two presidential elections. And now, as the primary season begins to heat up --- in fact, voters are going to the polls in eight states tomorrow --- lawsuits have been filed in six states to block the purchase or use of these computerized electronic machines.

The arguments against the machines include these: they're vulnerable to software tampering, they don't keep an easily recountable printed record, and they may miscount, switch or not record votes at all. Other than that, they're great.

Defenders of these machines say that most of the problems occur because of hasty setup or poor training of poll workers. What's the message there, that it's OK as long as it's one of those two reasons?

About one third of the U.S. counties use some electronic systems. This is a significant increase since 2000, the presidential election, and the Florida ballot recount. The rest of the country, though, still uses hand-counted paper ballots and lever-type voting machines.

So the question is this: Do you trust the honesty of America's election process?

E-mail your thoughts to caffertyfile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile.

BLITZER: Let's check back with Jack Cafferty with "The Cafferty File" --- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Wolf, as primary season heats up and voters go to the polls in eight states tomorrow, lawsuits have been filed in six states to block the purchase or use of electronic voting machines.

The question we asked, is do you trust the honesty of America's election process?

Michelle writes from San Antonio, Texas: "Let me tell you about voting in my state's primary in March. There I stood in front of the electronic voting machine while the poll worker told me how to use it. When he was finished, I asked, 'How do I know when I press the button, my vote gets counted as I intend?' He stared at me with a puzzled look, not knowing what to say. Finally, he said, 'Trust, I guess.' Well, that's not good enough.

Pat in Pincianna, Florida: "First, I don't think --- I think we need to shut down Diebold" --- that's a voting machine company --- "so we don't have to worry about unverifiable counts. Then we need to go back to a paper ballot or any low tech system that's harder for the crooks and gives us a real paper trail to follow."

Richard in Union City writes, "I trust my vote is counted. If you begin to think it doesn't count, then you become too cynical and you stop voting."

Skylar in Coconut Creek, Florida: "I trust the honesty of the process. I just don't always trust the honesty of the people who are overseeing the process."

Gerald in Tampa, Florida: "I live in Florida and I feel like I'm voting on an Etch-a-Sketch machine. We have a law that prohibits a paper trail. Why did our legislature think that was a good idea?"

And Rick in San Diego writes, "Sure, I believe our vote counting system is honest. If you don't believe me, just ask President Gore" --- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thank you very much.

Share article...
                 

Article Categories: CNN, Jack Cafferty