{"id":7897,"date":"2010-06-16T12:53:35","date_gmt":"2010-06-16T19:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bradblog.com\/?p=7897"},"modified":"2011-12-12T13:28:33","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T21:28:33","slug":"luddite-at-computer-mag-network-world-decries-e-voting-calls-for-paper-pencil-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/?p=7897","title":{"rendered":"‘Luddite’ at Computer Mag ‘Network World’ Decries E-Voting in SC, Calls for Paper, Pencil Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a number of points in Andreas Antonopoulos’ article at Network World<\/i><\/a> yesterday with which I respectfully disagree (eg<\/i>. His assertion that counting paper ballots by hand might take longer than with machines, and nuances in regard to his belief that a federal standard for voting machines is the answer, etc.)<\/p>\n

But for someone who doesn’t cover the unique circumstances of e-voting exclusively or in great detail, he is essentially right on the money<\/i> in his general assertions about the insane, 100% unverifiable nature of South Carolina’s recent primary election. In regard to the questions about Alvin Greene’s impossible-to-prove “win” over Judge Vic Rawl for the Democratic nomination to run for U.S. Senate, he writes, among other things:<\/p>\n

How have we reached the point where the only way to audit an election is statistics? Why can’t we get a robust, audited and validated election result? The simple answer is that we can, but we choose not to.
\n“\u00a6
\n[T]he best solution is paper and pencil. It is auditable, secure, repeatable, easy and robust.<\/div>\n

I note the above today, largely in response to the dead-enders, who I’ve begun to hear from yet again of late, who describe folks like me as “Luddites” or somehow “against progress”. Those who believe that elections ought to be 100% verifiable by the citizenry — and that any sort of concealed vote counting, electronic or otherwise, is a grave threat to democracy — are not “Luddites”. We are well-informed realists and patriots.<\/p>\n

For the record, I spent some ten years of my life making my living as a computer programmer. Network World’s<\/i> Antonopoulos, author of the magazine’s “Security: Risk and Reward” blog, is also senior vice president and founding partner at the the IT consulting and research firm, Nemertes Research. And the bulk of the science<\/i> on which all<\/i> of my reporting is based, comes directly from the top computer scientists and security experts in the world<\/i>. <\/p>\n

If anyone would like to call us “Luddites”, after all of these years being proven right, again and again, on these issues, bring it on. You’re only succeed in making yourself appear grossly ill-informed. Or worse.<\/p>\n[My thanks to “HeartlandLiberal” at dKos<\/a> for bringing the Network World<\/i> piece to my attention, and, for kicking back a bit at the many horribly dis-informed and mis-informed Kossacks who have been ignoring and\/or poo-pooing these issues for years, to their own shame and disservice.<\/i>]\n

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Previously related at The BRAD BLOG:<\/i><\/p>\n