4 ms·

Hanlon's Razor would suggest a bug in the hardware or software as the more likely explanation. Unfortunately, when politics are involved, people default to ass

by m_myers 14y ago

Hanlon's Razor would suggest a bug in the hardware or software as the more likely explanation. Unfortunately, when politics are involved, people default to assuming malice far more than they perhaps should.

mcantelon 14y ago
These voting machines flaws were widely reported last election. They always favoured the Republican candidate. Here's court testimony of an developer who was asked to create one of these rigged systems: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVmsaDS_FwY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVmsaDS_FwY
- briandear 14y ago
  They don't "always" favor the republican. That's just hyperbole. There have been widespread reports of Romney votes being altered -- days ago. I think our biggest problem is voter registration flaws and the lack of being able to identify that the person listed on the form is the actual one voting. We should also be dipping people's thumbs in ink like they do in Africa and Mexico to ensure that people don't vote twice. Voter fraud is far more common than alleged insidious voting machine malfunctions. Those machines are checked by reps of both parties and under heavy, continual scrutiny. Voter rolls, on the other hand, or absentee ballots are rife with fraud. For example, thousands of military members won't get to vote this election because the department of defense failed to mail the ballots on time. In 2010, I lived in China and didn't get my absentee ballot until 1 month after the election, even though I requested it 6 months prior from the US Consulate in Shanghai. I was disenfranchised like millions of other legal voters, both civilian and military. Some people are more concerned about some old minority lady allegedly with the inability to get a free photo id, yet ignore the military and overseas vote. Yet for the old minority lady, she need only go to the local courthouse to get things straightened out, while a solider in Kabul doesn't have that luxury. Another problem is blantant violations of election law by generally Democrat election judges. Examples from today: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/11/06/judge-orders-obama-mural-covered-at-northeast-philadelphia-polling-place/ http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/11/06/judge-orders-oba... http://mrctv.org/blog/obama-poster-hanging-florida-polling-station http://mrctv.org/blog/obama-poster-hanging-florida-polling-s... http://washingtonexaminer.com/philly-gop-poll-inspectors-being-ousted-for-dems/article/2512714#.UJkm9sXA-4d http://washingtonexaminer.com/philly-gop-poll-inspectors-bei... And voter intimidation here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/6/problems-black-panthers-surface-pa-polling-places/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/6/problems-blac... If the KKK were to show up at a Philidelphia polling site, there'd be cries of outrage and National Guard deployments, but since it's the New Black Panthers, it's ignored.
  - mcantelon 14y ago
    >They don't "always" favor the republican. That's just hyperbole. I've yet to see a credible instance of vote machine "malfunction" favoring Democrats covered by a reputable source, but if you have any links I'd be interested as it's certainly possible. >Voter fraud is far more common than alleged insidious voting machine malfunctions. Due to the nature of electric voting without a paper trail, there's no way to make this assertion as contemporary electronic voting can't be audited. >Those machines are checked by reps of both parties and under heavy, continual scrutiny. Not quite. See: http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/06/experimental-software-discreetly-installed-on-ohio-voting-machines/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/06/experimental-software-discr... Electronic voting in its current form is a remarkably bad idea. It invites corruption as a scale that requires much more resources than traditional analog voting fraud.
    - kbutler 14y ago
      30 seconds with google found: http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/malfunctioning-voting-machines-van-loads-of-non-english-speakers-bussed-in-to-vote/ http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/malfunctio... """touched the screen to vote for Mitt Romney but the machine lit up the name of Barack Obama. Stevens tried a second time and again the machine lit up Obama when she selected Romney. She tried a third time and finally Romney’s name lit up. Stevens reported the malfunction to board of elections personnel and was told the voting machine had been “acting up all day.” """ http://selwynduke.typepad.com/selwyndukecom/2012/10/obama-gets-endorsement-of-voting-machine-in-nc.html http://selwynduke.typepad.com/selwyndukecom/2012/10/obama-ge... """ Sher Coromalis ... says she cast her ballot for Governor Mitt Romney, but every time she entered her vote the machine defaulted to President Obama.... Marie Haydock, who also voted at the Bur-Mil Park polling location, had the same problem. ... Is it just me, or is this problem that “arises every election” one where malfunctioning machines always seem to err in favor of Democrats? """
      - mcantelon 14y ago
        Established media sources (preferably with some statistical analysis showing pro-Democrat anomalies) rather than random blogs would be nice, but thanks.
- mietek 14y ago
  What happened to this court case? Why isn't there a huge outcry about this?
  - mcantelon 14y ago
    My guess is the people who fund both the Democrats and Republicans like the idea of being able to rig elections and therefore there's mainstream silence about it. Otherwise, I find it hard to explain.
  - zero_intp 14y ago
    Per the usual, the witness 'suicided'.
    - mcantelon 14y ago
      Ah. Depressing, but not surprising.
    - zero_intp 14y ago
      I am wrong I was thinking of one of the investigators assigned to his claims. Raymond Lemme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Curtis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Curtis
pulplobster 14y ago
Even though a bug is not entirely unlikely, a bug which actively favors one candidate over the other is very unlikely.
sliverstorm 14y ago
people default to assuming malice It's simply because of the stakes. The cost of ignoring a positive is much greater than the cost of freaking out over a false positive.

by m_myers 14y ago

mcantelon 14y ago

These voting machines flaws were widely reported last election. They always favoured the Republican candidate. Here's court testimony of an developer who was asked to create one of these rigged systems: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVmsaDS_FwY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVmsaDS_FwY

briandear 14y ago
They don't "always" favor the republican. That's just hyperbole. There have been widespread reports of Romney votes being altered -- days ago. I think our biggest problem is voter registration flaws and the lack of being able to identify that the person listed on the form is the actual one voting. We should also be dipping people's thumbs in ink like they do in Africa and Mexico to ensure that people don't vote twice. Voter fraud is far more common than alleged insidious voting machine malfunctions. Those machines are checked by reps of both parties and under heavy, continual scrutiny. Voter rolls, on the other hand, or absentee ballots are rife with fraud. For example, thousands of military members won't get to vote this election because the department of defense failed to mail the ballots on time. In 2010, I lived in China and didn't get my absentee ballot until 1 month after the election, even though I requested it 6 months prior from the US Consulate in Shanghai. I was disenfranchised like millions of other legal voters, both civilian and military. Some people are more concerned about some old minority lady allegedly with the inability to get a free photo id, yet ignore the military and overseas vote. Yet for the old minority lady, she need only go to the local courthouse to get things straightened out, while a solider in Kabul doesn't have that luxury. Another problem is blantant violations of election law by generally Democrat election judges. Examples from today: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/11/06/judge-orders-obama-mural-covered-at-northeast-philadelphia-polling-place/ http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/11/06/judge-orders-oba... http://mrctv.org/blog/obama-poster-hanging-florida-polling-station http://mrctv.org/blog/obama-poster-hanging-florida-polling-s... http://washingtonexaminer.com/philly-gop-poll-inspectors-being-ousted-for-dems/article/2512714#.UJkm9sXA-4d http://washingtonexaminer.com/philly-gop-poll-inspectors-bei... And voter intimidation here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/6/problems-black-panthers-surface-pa-polling-places/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/6/problems-blac... If the KKK were to show up at a Philidelphia polling site, there'd be cries of outrage and National Guard deployments, but since it's the New Black Panthers, it's ignored.
- mcantelon 14y ago
  >They don't "always" favor the republican. That's just hyperbole. I've yet to see a credible instance of vote machine "malfunction" favoring Democrats covered by a reputable source, but if you have any links I'd be interested as it's certainly possible. >Voter fraud is far more common than alleged insidious voting machine malfunctions. Due to the nature of electric voting without a paper trail, there's no way to make this assertion as contemporary electronic voting can't be audited. >Those machines are checked by reps of both parties and under heavy, continual scrutiny. Not quite. See: http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/06/experimental-software-discreetly-installed-on-ohio-voting-machines/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/06/experimental-software-discr... Electronic voting in its current form is a remarkably bad idea. It invites corruption as a scale that requires much more resources than traditional analog voting fraud.
  - kbutler 14y ago
    30 seconds with google found: http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/malfunctioning-voting-machines-van-loads-of-non-english-speakers-bussed-in-to-vote/ http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/malfunctio... """touched the screen to vote for Mitt Romney but the machine lit up the name of Barack Obama. Stevens tried a second time and again the machine lit up Obama when she selected Romney. She tried a third time and finally Romney’s name lit up. Stevens reported the malfunction to board of elections personnel and was told the voting machine had been “acting up all day.” """ http://selwynduke.typepad.com/selwyndukecom/2012/10/obama-gets-endorsement-of-voting-machine-in-nc.html http://selwynduke.typepad.com/selwyndukecom/2012/10/obama-ge... """ Sher Coromalis ... says she cast her ballot for Governor Mitt Romney, but every time she entered her vote the machine defaulted to President Obama.... Marie Haydock, who also voted at the Bur-Mil Park polling location, had the same problem. ... Is it just me, or is this problem that “arises every election” one where malfunctioning machines always seem to err in favor of Democrats? """
    - mcantelon 14y ago
      Established media sources (preferably with some statistical analysis showing pro-Democrat anomalies) rather than random blogs would be nice, but thanks.
mietek 14y ago
What happened to this court case? Why isn't there a huge outcry about this?
- mcantelon 14y ago
  My guess is the people who fund both the Democrats and Republicans like the idea of being able to rig elections and therefore there's mainstream silence about it. Otherwise, I find it hard to explain.
- zero_intp 14y ago
  Per the usual, the witness 'suicided'.
  - mcantelon 14y ago
    Ah. Depressing, but not surprising.
  - zero_intp 14y ago
    I am wrong I was thinking of one of the investigators assigned to his claims. Raymond Lemme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Curtis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Curtis

pulplobster 14y ago

Even though a bug is not entirely unlikely, a bug which actively favors one candidate over the other is very unlikely.

sliverstorm 14y ago

people default to assuming malice It's simply because of the stakes. The cost of ignoring a positive is much greater than the cost of freaking out over a false positive.