more on eVoting thoughts

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ben Combee <ben.combee () gmail com>
Date: November 8, 2006 10:54:09 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] eVoting thoughts

On 11/7/06, Peter Jensen <peter () peterjensen com> wrote:
> First - no feedback.  Was my vote counted?  No indication at all.  In
> the old voting machines, the curtain would open when you moved the
> handle, and at least that provided *some* indication that something  
> was
> going on.  In these new systems, at least the one I used, there is
> absolutely no feedback.  The quiet is eerie.
>
> Second - who did I vote for?  There's no indication that the  
> candidates
> I voted for were the ones the machine registered.  It's just stupid  
> not
> to have some indication of this.  Normal interactive procedure is to
> provide confirmation of your choices *before* you complete an
> interactive task.  Apparently the designers felt that the light beside
> your candidate was enough feedback.  Call me stoopid, but it sure left
> me wondering.

The e-Slate system we used here in Austin, Texas addressed both of
these: After going through the entire ballot, you get a summary screen
listing all of your votes, and you can scroll through the list and
return to any race and change your choice.  There's a separate "Cast
Ballot" button on the box, and when you hit the button, the screen
changes to one of a waving American flag which indicates that your
ballot has been registered in both the memory on the device and on the
"Judge Ballot Controller" that is connected to each machine.


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