Does your vote really count?
November 7, 2006 Elections
It is time to vote, have you? If you have, does your vote really count? Are you sure? Voting at polls with computer systems really has to make you wonder. If you haven’t watched the documentary on HBO called “Hacking Democracy” you should. This documentary does well with showing you not only the flaws in the computer systems that you vote through. But even the deception with election officials. It is of course shocking and enough to make your stomach sick.
The HBO documentary follows Seattle grandmother and writer Bev Harris on the adventure of the Hacking Democracy. Bev Harris has a website called Black Box Voting. At this site you can find many others who are also concerned with the computer systems running our polls.
Now today, my husband and I went to vote. We knew they were using computer systems now in our area, I just couldn’t remember who they were through. Micro Vote are the machines used in Jasper County Indiana. Today we were using their Infinity machines, we have used the MV-464 in the past as well. I found a nice memo on their website, just a little suggestion to their potential consumers not to buy used machines they originally sold to another state. I also found 2 user lists on their website. Micro Vote List 1 and Micro Vote List 2. If your state or county is listed, I guess we know who to contact to discuss the use of these machines in our county.
I also found an article about MicroVote system and a judgement against them for just over a million dollars. And another article about the MicroVote systems needing upgrades before the election. Doesn’t seem to me like they would of had enough time to do upgrades, and proper testing. And it is also funny that MicroVote did change the system before without telling officials? I take the time to Vote, I just wonder if it worth it.
You can find some interesting information at Voters Unite. They have a pdf document of failures with the MicroVote System.