OT? A solution to the e-voting machine problem

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

The problem is;different people "interpret" differently,and then there's bias. Any mark should NOT NEED interpretation. Any mark should be clear,or *not counted*. If they can't mark a ballot clearly,then they should not be voting.

Jim Thompson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

In Seminole County,Fl,after you're done,the ballot is in a cover folder,and when fed into the optical reader,the ballot is pulled out,no one gets to see it.The reader holds the ballots inside it.

I feel the same way but I also don't think the government would kill me for causing trouble. It is not always that way.

But then I also didn't get all that concerned when I heard them say the NSA could hear my phone conversations. I certainly wasn't surprised. I have seen the antennas at Ft Meade and I understand how satellites communicate. As the democrats demonstrated to Newt Gingrich, if it is on the air, anyone can hear it.

One problem that made it less attractive was any computer system that had been around long enough to have a card reader on it was killed by Y2K. They had to bring in a card reader into Ft Myers in 1992 because there was not one computer in the whole town that had one. When this system was put in place every DP shop had at least one card reader. Usually there were several.

The state of Florida got sued for that view. They wanted the counters to somehow channel the "intent of the voter". The 2000 election would have been settled a week after the election if we were allowed to take the ballots at face value.

But IIRC many problems were caused by not clearing the chads from the punch machines which made it damn near impossible to make the vote you wanted.

That was an allegation/theory but they never really found one of those machines. The manufacturer said the chip box was designed to hold about a half million chips. That was more ballots in more elections than most machines were in existance. It is also part of the setup process to check the box. This really isn't a machine. It is just a card holder with 13 rows of parallel steel rubber bars that have slots between them the chips go through. We used to see a lot of "Portapunch" pads in the computer biz before terminals became economically viable. They didn't fail often enough to offer maintenance on. The cards themselves were a pain in the ass, but only because you couldn't fold them up and put them in your pocket without popping out the chads. These were usually used by guys in the field or on the factory floor and they were tough on the cards. There was really only one way to fold an "IBM" card and still be able to process it. Our checks were embossed with lines to make that apparent. If you fold it in thirds the fold marks will clear the feed knife and get ironed out flat in the rollers of the first feed station of most IBM card readers. You can't fold a portapunch card. That is one reason the poll workers put it in that envelope when they give it to you.

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

What IS "face value"???

(I remember that "hanging chad" nonsense.)

Double marks (2 or more candidates chosen)should also be NOT COUNTED,voided.

Nobody is "disenfranchising" them,they are doing it to themselves.

I note that many of the rich will only now vote by absentee ballot, not trusting other methods. Irony would be the head of Diebold doing that.

I would be more thoughtful about disenfranchising any ADA protected groups. I most certainly would not to be confused with some wanting to disenfranchise such a high profile person as Steven Hawking.