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Dear Sir, As an Indian I can testify that we actually have far more election abuse - people being blocked from entering a voting booth, vote boxes(still vote on

by param 14y ago

Dear Sir, As an Indian I can testify that we actually have far more election abuse - people being blocked from entering a voting booth, vote boxes(still vote on paper) being stolen, voting booths set on fire... Of course, again, there is media acting as a watchdog, and a hope that the manipulation is statistically insignificant.

masklinn 14y ago
> vote boxes(still vote on paper) FWIW, most of the world votes on paper, and if history's anything to go by paper ballot is way more reliable than electronic, at least when it comes to auditability. I'm sure it's possible to design a secure and tamper-proof electronic voting system[0] with a great, useable interface... but nobody seems interested in doing that. [0] system, not machine, because you most likely want the machine recording votes and the machine tallying them to be fully separate.
azharcs 14y ago
I would like to disagree with Mr.Param who is either being a cynic or trying to be "me-too". India is aggressively moving away from paper-ballot voting to EVM's. In our last general elections, a million electronic voting machines (EVM's) were used which reduces vote-rigging, ballot capture etc. In maybe 5 years, we will be completely rid of paper-ballots. For further read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_voting_machines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_voting_machines India also has option called "None of the Above" as a voting option, which is extremely democratic.
- param 14y ago
  All right, I have been living in the US for a while, and didn't know about the move to electronic voting. However, my point about there being FAR more abuse in India stands. Here are some references: Fatal attacks near polling booth - 2009 - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123985213176424031.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123985213176424031.html Booth capturing "found primarily in India" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booth_capturing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booth_capturing intimidation on racial lines: http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/162808/1/5847 http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/162808/1/5847 You are plain kidding if you feel elections in India are anywhere close to being as good as US.

by param 14y ago

masklinn 14y ago

> vote boxes(still vote on paper) FWIW, most of the world votes on paper, and if history's anything to go by paper ballot is way more reliable than electronic, at least when it comes to auditability. I'm sure it's possible to design a secure and tamper-proof electronic voting system[0] with a great, useable interface... but nobody seems interested in doing that. [0] system, not machine, because you most likely want the machine recording votes and the machine tallying them to be fully separate.

azharcs 14y ago

I would like to disagree with Mr.Param who is either being a cynic or trying to be "me-too". India is aggressively moving away from paper-ballot voting to EVM's. In our last general elections, a million electronic voting machines (EVM's) were used which reduces vote-rigging, ballot capture etc. In maybe 5 years, we will be completely rid of paper-ballots. For further read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_voting_machines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_voting_machines India also has option called "None of the Above" as a voting option, which is extremely democratic.

param 14y ago
All right, I have been living in the US for a while, and didn't know about the move to electronic voting. However, my point about there being FAR more abuse in India stands. Here are some references: Fatal attacks near polling booth - 2009 - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123985213176424031.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123985213176424031.html Booth capturing "found primarily in India" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booth_capturing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booth_capturing intimidation on racial lines: http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/162808/1/5847 http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/162808/1/5847 You are plain kidding if you feel elections in India are anywhere close to being as good as US.