Why are we still using electronic voting machines?
The true outcome of one election is already lost in the bowels of a computer somewhere, to which the once and future candidate, Christine Jennings, has been denied access. Even if electronic voting machines work fine, popular concern that they don’t introduces unnecessary uncertainty into the electoral process. Uncertainty that will likely grow after today’s revelation in the New York Times that the company charged with inspecting the lion’s share of voting machines, Ciber, Inc., has been barred from future inspections. Ciber Inc. cannot document that it conducted all of the required tests, and its quality-control practices are also in question. The federal Election Assistance Commission barred Ciber Inc. from conducting any further inspections this summer, but has only recently disclosed its actions. Many machines already in use were inspected by Ciber Inc., making the Commission’s reasons for waiting until after the elections to reveal the problem fairly transparent.
Would that voting were equally transparent.
