more on comments on NIST "Draft Report on Voting System Vulnerability"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Karl Auerbach <karl () cavebear com>
Date: December 4, 2006 5:54:29 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] comments on NIST "Draft Report on Voting System  
Vulnerability"

David Farber wrote:

> From: Ed Gerck <egerck () safevote com>

> In particular, now that governmental and private secure record
> keeping is finding that paper is the least favored recording
> medium specially

What should we use?  Clay tablets with cuneiform?

A year or two ago the Atlantic Monthly ran an article about a close,  
and publicly questioned, election.  The authors of the article went  
back to the original paper ballots and examined them.

That election was held in 1800.

The paper ballots were the electoral votes for Jefferson and Burr  
(http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200403/ackerman)

The desired voting medium would serve a trio of requirements:

  - voter verification

  - election auditing

  - historical review.

For voter verification the sine qua non is that the recording medium  
be readable using only normal human faculties.

And we have learned that a lot of technology does not age well: I was  
at a conference the other week and someone brought along a 9-track  
drive and had invited people to bring tapes to be read.  The success  
rate even on this relatively recent (only two decades obsolete)  
technology was not very good.

The historical review requirement also argues for a medium that can  
be read using our human senses.

Paper is good for this.  It's main drawback is that it is physically  
large compared to electronic or optical media.  (And if we want to  
know good safe places to house that paper, all those places that  
didn't work for nuclear waste would probably be great places for paper.)

We're screwing with democracy here, it is silly to gamble and bet  
public faith in elections on what is the sexy technology of the week.

                --karl--




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