Privatizing the elections was a great idea, as Black Box Voting reminds us:
Diebold/Premier says [it’s] too late to fix a new voting machine 2-minute warning and “time-out” feature which can kick voters off the machine, forcing them to accept a provisional ballot. “At least 15” voters were booted off the machine in Johnson County, Kansas recently, and Diebold/Premier says this is due to a software “upgrade” which sets a timer on voter inactivity. According to the company, the machines receiving the upgrade are used in 34 states and 1,700 jurisdictions.
The average voter takes 4-9 minutes to cast a ballot, according to studies. [Thanks, Todd]
Meanwhile, in Michigan, members of a certain political party say they will use lists of foreclosed homes to challenge the eligibility of voters.
You have till Oct. 15 to submit your 1,000-word Election Day horror story to Apex.
[Image: Opening Count, hyku]
The Secretary of State of California recently ordered a complete security audit of all electronic voting systems in use in the state of California. Despite some concerns about an unrealistic schedule, this appears to be more than security theater — one system was completely decertified, and several other systems (including Diebold and Sequoia systems) were decertified and conditionally re-certified given the imposition of additional security precautions. Bruce Schenier’s got