| | |  Editorials | Opinions | October 2009 
Big Problems with Electronic Voting in the US for 2010
 Guillermo Ramón Adames y Suari - PVNN
It looks that the next "Florida" is going to be "Ohio." In the 2004 elections, most American voters were very annoyed with the politics and the polls in Florida. They seem to be very distrustful to all that has brought up this uneasiness: The "responsible one" seems to be the electronic vote. I have to stress that the honest electronic vote exists but this seems to be simply a matter of power. The political structure plays a very heavy part in the situation. For this reason strategic operations will be apparently moved to Ohio.
We must notice that in recent years, Ohio has moved from pure Republicanism to a Democratic stronghold. Six out of the seven Columbus' city council members are Democrats, just as Michael Coleman, the City Major. But no Democrat has been elected to Congress from Central Ohio. At this stage the Republican connected Election Services and Software Corporation ES&S, with 80% ownership of America's electronic voting machines, could have the power to shape America's future. ES&S just purchased the Voting Machine division of the Ohio-based Diebold which was in charge of collecting the votes of the 2004 presidential election. So, Ohio will be the next center of operations.
What does that mean? ES&S and Diebold Ohio based will control four out of every five votes cast on touchscreen machines in the US. This is a total of 80% of the national voting machines: including both hardware and software that will be controlled from Ohio. Many people are concerned that a couple of keystrokes will turn the elections around. And that can happen.
To this date, no security mechanisms have been tied to the available hardware and software available at ES&S/Diebold and little security exists for vote theft. The source code on all US touchscreen machines now used for the casting and counting ballots is proprietary. This means that the companies own and operate the machines, including ES&S/Diebold and are not required to share with public the details of how those machines operate. This has been brought up to the US Attorney General, Eric Holder but there is not much expectation that the situation will change.
Many associations, forums have brought up this matter to light, particularly VerifiedVoting.org which has been analyzing the electronic voting procedures thoroughly. This Organization approaches voting in the US with the best possible transparency, professionalism and honesty in order to give to the American people what the people has asked for through the vote. Their actions have moved a great deal of technicians, lawyers, computer specialists, professors and many others interested both in electronic usage, but an honest electronic usage. From the opinions of many involved, the electronic vote is wanted, but an honest electronic vote.
I hope to be able to follow up these forums and arguments which will certainly affect the electronic vote procedures both in the US and Mexico. Mexico sometimes follows blindly, rightly or wrongly, what the US implements. To this date, in another context, the situation seems to be the very same: Mexico follows, both by ignorance and by negligence.
Guillermo Ramón Adames y Suari is a former electoral officer of the United Nations Organization. Contact him at gui.voting(at)gmail.com |
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