12.11.09
FCC Comments re Internet Voting
Yesterday was the deadline to submit comments to the FCC regarding the use of the internet for voting as well as other broadband issues. The context was a nationwide push to extend broadband access to under-served areas of the country, an effort similar in scope to the rural electrification program of the 1930’s and ’40’s. It will take a major infusion of cash to build out this infrastructure.
So the FCC asked for public comment. And, boy, did they get a virtual earful! As of today there are 917 filings posted online. Read the rest of this entry »
11.29.09
Just 4 votes …
If just two voters had voted “no” instead of “yes” … or if four “yes” voters had decided not to vote at all in the recall election, Ann Samuelson might still have her job as District 5 Commissioner of Clatsop County, Oregon.
Instead she lost the citizen-driven recall and was removed from office. The final tally was 1013 “yes” and 1009 “no” votes. There were three undervotes in this race, where voters chose not to express an opinion on Samuelson’s recall. There were no undervotes in the other recall election on the Oct. 27, 2009 ballot.
This election clearly demonstrates the importance of each and every vote — and also shows why paper ballots are crucial in such close elections.
The four-vote margin triggered an automatic hand recount of the paper ballots . The original machine tally was conducted on the ES&S M-650 optical scanner. That machine tally was verified by the hand count of the paper ballots and certified on November 10, 2009. The certified results of the recount are posted on the County Clerk’s website: http://www.co.clatsop.or.us/Assets/Dept_2/PDF/Recount%20Canvass%20of%20Votes%2011-10-09.pdf
Samuelson’s colleague Jeff Hazen easily survived the Oct. 27 recall election with 1251 voting “no”and 978 “yes”. [Source: http://www.co.clatsop.or.us/Assets/Dept_2/PDF/Final%20Official%20Report%2010-27-09.pdf]
The hot-button issue that triggered the citizen recall effort was the commissioners’ vote in favor of a controversial siting of a LNG terminal at Bradwood Landing near the mouth of the Columbia River. The commissioners voted to approve the LNG siting despite a previous 67% “no” vote on a county-wide referendum on LNG related pipelines in parks — the county commissioners were accused of ignoring widespread citizen opposition to the LNG facility siting.
There is another county commission recall election in Clatsop county set for December 8. This time the target is District 2 Commissioner Patricia Roberts.
Will this be another cliffhanger like Samuelson’s or an easy win like Hazen’s? Only time — and the voters — will tell. Stay tuned. The LNG issue evokes strong feelings among voters on both sides of the controversy.
10.29.09
You want insane election results? Just try IRV!
One of the many dubious claims about Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) is that it will produce a consensus winner. Not always true, as has been found in studies of both Aspen, CO and Burlington, VT. The candidate with the most first and second place support does not always win. This is because it is possible to hurt your preferred candidate by turning out too many supporters in his behalf. How is this possible? Just take a look at this explanatory video to see how this could happen (and has indeed happened in real elections in various places across the U.S.)
Why is this more democratic? Why would voters prefer the kind of result described in this video to a straightforward up-or-down vote?
10.23.09
‘The computer says so’ is not a good answer
In Humboldt County California, Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich has not had good luck relying on her computer system(s) to give her accurate information. This has created problems.
In November 2008 she found out that the Diebold optical scan system she was using was capable of making an entire batch of counted ballots disappear into thin air without a trace … poof! No warning message … no tellltale evidence in the computer log … just poof, the batch was gone.
It turned out to be a known bug in the Diebold software that might only be avoided with special “workaround” procedures – or at least, that is what representatives of Diebold told her when she contacted them about the vanishing votes. Crnich found out about the problem because of a post-election audit conducted by local activists – not because of any notification from Diebold.
So Crnich did what a conscientious election official might do – she decided to switch to a new vendor and spent recent months getting her brand new system from Hart InterCivic ready for this November’s election. Read the rest of this entry »
10.19.09
Wow! Diebold scanners are picky about ink colors on ballots
Yup, you read that right. Diebold scanners are picky about which color ink is used to mark a ballot — sometimes just can not read blue ink. Also, sometimes just can not read marks made with number two pencil. Everyone who has ever filled out a scantron sheet for an SAT or GRE or any other standardized test must be scratching your head by now.
Yes, I know, I know … the official instructions from Diebold say to use a number two pencil or a pen with blue or black ink (just like those standardized test directions). But you can’t believe the official stuff because it doesn’t always work. Read the rest of this entry »
‘We will not risk our lives to vote again’
Voting is a risky business in Afghanistan. During the period when Afghanis cast their ballots more than two months ago the Taliban launched grenade attacks at polling places. They also punished voters who sported the ink-stained finger that is proof of voting in Afghanistan by amputating that finger.
This Taliban campaign was so effective that turnout was a below 40 percent nationally and as low as five percent in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Read the rest of this entry »
07.04.09
Why does it have to be either/or?
I get frustrated by those who see CIA conspiracies lurking under every rock and hiding in the shrubbery every time there is an international incident. The recent situations in Iran and Honduras are both prime examples of this kind of thinking. Read the rest of this entry »
New questions about Iran’s election
Aspects of the Iran election remind me of a TV commercial for men’s pants. There are several variations but the basic storyline concerns some guy who is shown going through a variety of spills and disasters only to return home to the question: “Where have those pants been?”
While the pants are unscathed the guy appears disheveled and somewhat worse for the wear, the pants are free of stains and wrinkles. The sales pitch is that one should prefer pants that stay crisp and clean no matter what.
But what does the Dockers commercial have to do with the Iran election, you might wonder. The answer is simple — photos of paper ballots being recounted have been shown on Iranian TV. But the pictures just raise new questions about the integrity of Iran’s electoral process. The question that must be asked: “Where have these ballots been?” Read the rest of this entry »
06.22.09
‘Where is my vote?’
The sign says it all: “Where is my vote?”
Throughout the ongoing street marches in Iran the sign eloquently expresses the underlying sense of many Iranians that their votes were simply not counted. Their voices at the ballot box were not heard.
One marcher eloquently expressed the feelings of many as she was interviewed on TV: “There was so much energy for Mousavi — we knew he was winning.” Read the rest of this entry »
