@snoop-blog: The last two times what didn't count? Your vote? Sure it did. It may seem like your vote didn't count, but the loser usually feels that way.

Rabid Penguin

href="#c7381379">Redwraithvienna:

"Can you say "Paper Ballots" - i mean why use a machine if a piece of paper with all the candidates can do the same job and is fail safe."

-- maybe in Ohio they have a tendency to "lose" paper ballets as well?

stackedrecords

Oh, I'm sure the machines will be "fixed".

Loonie

Don't worry about the machine losing votes. The democrats will vote more than once and recruit the dead, illegal aliens, and felons, to vote as well, to make up for it.

Rabid Penguin

@elheeffa: Sorry elheeffa, but I've never liked sitting down waiting for bad things to happen to me.

newgalactic

@jakebathman: Why? Do you think your voting system is any more secure? Those scanners, the ones that they scan your paper ballot into, can be hacked just as easily...

Xavoc

@ I Think We're..
I'm with you I think Ohio should be sold for scrap. But sadly we have to live with their decisions as indicated by the last 4 years.

The onion has a news report about other states voting machines. Get ready for McCain in 08' and 2012.
[www.theonion.com]

SeattleTed

I just hope whoever hacks these devices makes it so some cartoon wins and brings the discrepancies to light. I remember reading the tally sometime on the amount of votes Calvin and Hobbs, Micky Mouse and other get on the right in votes.

TheCapt

@newgalactic:

I think you missed the point of the post. There is no reason for anyone to "protect" us from electronic voting fraud the MACHINES will do it FOR you.

elheeffa

I know one state secretary who should be updating their Monster resume right now.

darthuv

Why not just vote on paper napkins, it's not like it counts anyways. Last 2 times it didn't anyway.

snoop-blog

I do live in Ohio and I am in NO way surprised by this.

Curves

I'd make some disparaging remarks about if we really care about the opinions of anyone from Ohio, but I'm having trouble caring enough about Ohio at all.

I Think We're Property

@jakebathman: "I'm glad I don't live in ohio"

Are you kidding me? This is exactly when you WANT to live in ohio. That way you can volunteer at your local polling place and ensure things go down without a hitch. If elections are rigged, it's because WE let them be rigged. Don't leave it to your local 80-year-old grandmother (bless her soul) to be the first and last line of defense in preventing electronic voting fraud.

newgalactic

so basically ohio should have to vote somewhere else.

odnet

This is an "admission of fault" that was released to the public on purpose. With menacing results in mind perhaps? They've just openly admitted a problem that cannot be fixed by election day - think about that. Does that not open up the entire election to a lawsuit from the losing side?

UpIrons

@chucklebuck: lol, very nice!

newgalactic

Hopefully the recount machine is working right, because it's gonna see heavy use this November.

chucklebuck

yeah I'm also confused why it can't be fixed before voting day??

jakebathman

Can you say "Paper Ballots" - i mean why use a machine if a piece of paper with all the candidates can do the same job and is fail safe.

Redwraithvienna

@elheeffa: you beat me to it

I'm glad I don't live in ohio

jakebathman

This is retarded to a point that amazes me, just get new ones you cheap sons of bitches.

HellTempest

fail

elheeffa

I've got inside information coming in now from the wire (bee be beeep)...Barak's running mate...is the CEO of Diebold...details to follow...(beep be beep..)

SeattleTed

@Redwraithvienna: Except for the dead people that are still voting... Like, you know, in Chicago.

Xavoc

@rlreif: The problem is, we know that the vote counts weren't accurate however we don't actually know how many of what votes were lost where. It's easy to say it was rigged, or the loss fell in Bush's favor. The truth is, we don't really know, and even if we did the laws are written so that there can be only 1 election, and recounts must happen within a certain number of days.

Xavoc

@stackedrecords:

Well thats easier too proof though. If you keep count and have x people who voted, but only x - y paper ballots then you can say that something was wrong.

But if a computer tells you x people voted ... why even asume that in reality x +/- y people voted.

Redwraithvienna

@newgalactic: And don't let your deceased 150 year old great-great-great grandmother be the deciding vote.

hammertime1994

it is because of Ohio that Bush is still president
[www.rollingstone.com]

and its not exactly the fault of the people of ohio

rlreif

@stackedrecords: They still scan the ballots for accuracy purposes. People have a habit of losing count. Machines have a habit of losing count, only when improperly (properly?) programmed to do so.

Even scanners can be hacked. They've already proved it. Put in a vote card with a negative # of votes for the candidate you want to lose...

Xavoc

if that doesn't say "we don't care about your vote" any louder then what does?

I'm sure the government has their dudes picked out long before the "voting" takes place anyways.

WD40

Ohio: Proving once and for all that your vote doesn't really matter after all.

wiregr

@Xavoc:
read the article linked in my previous post

rlreif

electoral votes are all that matter anyway. the government just likes to let us press buttons so we feel involved. it's kinda like when you give a baby a broken controller to make him think he's beating you in halo.

Kartune

@Rabid Penguin: We were ALL losers in the last two elections.

robinandtami

How can this NOT be a massive legal issue? Isn't any election held with these things invalid?

imaria

democratic government - 0
tolitarian governement - 1

ryno365

How hard is it to write vote counting software?
I mean seriously, just hire some OSS php devs to do it for you.

zmjjmz

Are they "programmed" to lose votes for a specific party?

bms

@zmjjmz: yeah definitely....it's just tallies from a selection from a fixed list, and not to say that that's incredibly easy to hack but simple code is also very easy to verify

but really, there are going to be lost votes, fraudulent votes, and apathetic non-existent votes, but in the end it's our control over our own vote that remains the most important.

p.s. this went political way faster than I thought it would

jakebathman

Diebold makes the new ATM machines for Bank of America.
Do they also lose your deposits?

nocar

I'm still under the assumption the Electorate is still relying on the paper ballots and only using the electronic ballots for "live" results? Gizmodo, I need to know the answer to this!!

Overheal

Oh, good, so the Demoncrats already have an excuse in the queue for when they lose the election. Suck it, libs.

mauser

Agree with sentiment: How hard can it be to write code to chose between 2 people? Damn, just get a bouncer in there with a hand-clicker! Obama [click] - "got it - thanks!" This is stupid. What's more stupid is that nothing will come of it - it'll just fade away...

zarchitect

@aeroworks: I also wonder who they've hired as programmers when they say that having a paper record would be too difficult.

nucwin83

hard to believe a computer will loose votes. Is this whole thing blown out of perspective?or was it reallt designed and coded by 4th graders?

aeroworks

@nocar: I'll guarantee they won't lose withdrawals.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong that they can't write software to tally votes?

Maybe I should go into the voting machine industry.

nucwin83

i am a poll worker in ohio. the diebold machines are a pain in the butt, but the electronic vote is backed up by a paper printout of every single vote cast.
the main issue with these machines is people voting but not completing the process(not clicking every "next" until the "cast ballot" button shows up)
the problem with the system is corruption is going to happen, doesnt matter if these electronic machines are used, or paper ballot(like the scantrons).

if you want to protect your right as a voter, go to the local board of election and work the polls. doenst matter what party you are in, do your civic duty.
it doesnt pay well (well at least in ohio :) less than minimum wage) but its worth the time to see the process from the inside.

higgy

@robinandtami: "We were ALL losers in the last two elections."

Not in the U.S. we weren't.

@jakebathman: "this went political way faster than I thought it would"

You're new here?

@mauser: "the Demoncrats already have an excuse in the queue for when they lose the election."

They always do, Mauser, they always do.

GadgetPlay

Does this mean we can finally ignore ohio?
wait..

roflwaffles

Oh my dear lord. People act like there was never any voting irregularities prior to GWB's terms in office. Have you people ever heard of Tammeny Hall? The Chicago Machine? William Hale Thompson invented the phrase "Vote early and vote often." In Chicago it was a pretty regular occurrence to have massive turnout of registered voters... years after those voters are dead. There are Texas counties where, when JFK was elected, the number of votes cast exceeded the total number of residents of the county by a factor of three, and all those votes were counted.

The righteous indignation would be a bit more believable if they were as critical of proposals to loosen voting identity and registration requirements, which are the easiest way for fraud to occur.

junyo

@GadgetPlay: "Not in the U.S. we weren't."

Well, maybe not in Crawford, TX. But for examples of losers in the last two elections, google "Response to Katrina", "Freedom Tower budget", "Afghanistan exit strategy", "Iraq exit strategy", "Children left behind".

That should be a good start.

qbrad

WTF!
How hard can it be to make a machine that counts.
Don't feed me any BS on what it takes to make secure voting machines. The first thing you would do is make a machine that can count. Then you start worrying about being secure, networking them etc etc.

If you can't get the thing to count properly, you lose.

It's as if they are screwing this up on purpose.

@qbrad: yeah, no kidding.

nospamsam

In late-breaking news Diebold claims to have fixed their system employing "super-secure, absolutely unhackable" RFID ballot chits...

Stem_Sell

... the new unhackable RFID Diebold will sport a HD display using nVidia 8800 chipsets and in-development Art Lebedev peripherals...

hobobobo

@qbrad: I'm sure a bunch of lefties are upset, it's what they do. The problems with Katrina were mainly from the decades of corrupt liberal leadership at the state and local level. You can't blame Bush for that. If you want to hate him hate him. Did you hate Bill Clinton? You could have found ten times the reasons if you wanted to. You probably don't.

The exit strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan are to stay until victorious and leave not one moment before, which seems to be a difficult concept for some. Ted Kennedy wrote the Education Bill, not GWB. If I were you, I'd get started coming up with inane reasons to hate John McCain, as Bush will only be in office for a little while longer, unlike Big Mac, who'll be around awhile.

GadgetPlay

@GadgetPlay:

Yes it was all Louisiana's fault, Michael Brown and FEMA and nothing to do with the Katrina suck fest. Brownie did a heck of a job. In fact, all of Bush's cronies have been *brilliant* at their jobs. Monica Goodling? You go girl! We want a REPUBLICAN Justice department, or NO Justice department. Inane reasons to hate John McCain? Yeah, I've got a few. How about the fact that his buddy Phil "Nation Of Whiners" Gramm is pretty much responsible for both the mortgage crisis AND gas prices? Deregulate and Speculate baby! Free market!

What exactly is "victory" in Iraq, anyway? I'm pretty sure the Mission was "Accomplished" back in 2003, so what the heck are we waiting for? Unfortunately it appears that John McCain won't get to have his 100 years in Iraq, as the Iraqis are about ready to kick us the hell out of their country by around next year. So much for time tables = "cut and run" / "nazi appeaser". I wonder how many more billion dollar contracts they can squeeze in for KBR and Blackwater before we have to go? They don't have to build the bases, just SAY they did, and the taxpayer will cough up the money. After all, this was never an officially declared war, so war profiteering laws don't apply. And we all know that's why we're REALLY there, don't we?

davekaybsc

What country is this? Jebus!

RoboChop

in our current government's state of affairs, should anyone seem surprised?

hindsight2020

If this wasn't so scary for the rest of the world I would have a good laugh at the incompetence of the private sector in making voting work -- the public sector has made it work for 100's of years already (corrupt or not). As it stands we just have to brace ourselves and hope the next US Prez screws up so badly in the domestic front that he gets his ass kicked sufficiently hard to keep his troops away from the rest of the world.... Holy crap, this just keeps getting worse...

vmad

Does this mean I can just stay home and play video games come election day, given that my vote becomes more useless than it already was?

justhesh

@justhesh: "Does this mean I can just stay home and play video games come election day,"

Absolutely. Invite vmad over for the day as well. davekaybsc can come over and read Mother Jones and get high and listen to NPR and drink 40s while he waits for his turn to play. You children all need to get out of Mom's basement and check out the real country, and the real world. Everything's pretty much the opposite of what you're being told. If you're already out in the real world then you have no excuse. Please grow up.

GadgetPlay

@GadgetPlay:

Sounds like a good time. I'd ask you to join, but I think that's the night of your Limbaugh/Hannity three-way.

Everything is the opposite of what you're being told by the Bush administration.

davekaybsc

@GadgetPlay: I didn't hate Bill Clinton. Mostly because he spent more than two months a year IN the White House. Mostly because he at least played the part of loving and respecting this country enough to want to lead it. Current leadership is absent. Completely. Mr. Stammers can't seem to talk his way out of anything in public (so he just doesn't answer), but people still support him. Say he's doing a great job, and certainly better than his predecessor. Meanwhile, the dub's best friend Pervez is being told to get out (something us fine Americans should have demanded as soon as Bush started performing war crimes en masse) and the Cheyney/Rove administration has flip flopped on that relationship multiple times during the reign of fascism that's been the oughts.
I notice you failed to retaliate on the children left behind. Perhaps we agree that another "plan" implemented by the great Governor from Texas (worst education system in the union while in power) is really just a poorly thought out distraction designed for the simpletons in this country, who really hate the hard decisions, to get on board so that they feel good knowing they helped out those less fortunate than themselves.

qbrad

@qbrad: Your hatred for the man is palpable, and your perceptions are being driven by this hatred. Unfortunately many others are in the same boat with you. I hope you get better.

@davekaybsc: A who and who three-way? If those are hot babes then yeah, count me out. Oh, wait, I'm VOTING that day. Of course I won't be as busy as many deceased Democrats, as I will only be voting once. Have fun anyway, drink a 40 for me, and tell your Mom I said "Hi!"

GadgetPlay

@GadgetPlay: You and I are going to have to very drunk one day. Together. Should be fun.

qbrad

@jakebathman: I'm not glad that I live in Ohio :(

wiggatron

@rlreif:

Rolling Stone's server seems to be having trouble at the moment, so people may want to check out a copy of the article instead at [web.archive.org]

Isildur

But Premier spokesman Chris Riggall said the programming problem had gone undetected after years of use and both federal and state testing.

He cites that in defense??? That just means that there are a lot of vote counts from previous elections that should now be re-examined.

Isildur

@Rabid Penguin: Actually that is not fully true. The way the US presidential electoral system works, makes some votes count more then others.
[www.madore.org]

krom

would we be having this discussion, if Palm Beach County, FL didn't have the infamous Butterfly ballot. That just caused an uproar in the 2000 election, that prompted Fl to try they're luck in electronic voting machines.

MarlinsGirl