Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Diebold counting Ontario local elections

Yes, you read that correctly. When I went to the advance poll this morning (the "official" day is November 13th), I was shocked to discover that Diebold Election Systems, the same company that makes the vast majority of voting machines for US elections -- the ones that don't make a paper trail and which can easily been hacked into -- has the contract here in Ontario as well. The good news is that here there is a paper trail that is created. The vast majority of voters, myself included, use Scantron sheets where you fill in the circles of the candidates of your choice. For the visually impaired, there are touchscreens with headphones to ensure privacy -- and a printout to act as a backup.

For DES to continue to claim in the States there is no need for a paper trail is totally bogus. It's their polite way of saying, "We want the Republicans to stay in power -- forever." If they could do it for us Canadians, then they sure as heck can do it for their fellow Americans. And besides, I feel a lot safer with the scan sheet anyway -- I know who I voted for, and it can be verified.

Vote for this article at Progressive Bloggers.

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