Electronic Voting's Vulnerability to Tampering Could Undermine Public Confidence in Machinery of Democracy

Interview with Bev Harris, author of "Black Box Voting, Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century," conducted by Scott Harris

In response to the controversial outcome of the 2000 presidential election and the flawed paper ballots and "hanging chads" that disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters in Florida, Congress allocated billions of dollars to modernize the nation's voting machinery. But as new electronic voting machine systems are being purchased and put to use they have come under greater scrutiny. Computer specialists analyzing equipment being purchased by the state of Maryland from the Diebold Election Systems company, issued a report which found this technology is at high risk of compromise and vulnerable to computer hackers and voting fraud.

The report prepared for Maryland by the Science Applications International Corporation confirmed an earlier examination of Diebold equipment that concluded security gaps in the machines could be exploited to let people vote many times or change their vote after they are cast. But despite these warnings of security flaws, Maryland officials are proceeding with the purchase of Diebold machines.

Currently more than 30,000 electronic voting machines, built by various companies, are being used in 38 states, a fact that has critics concerned about the security and accuracy of future election results. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Bev Harris, author of the book "Black Box Voting, Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century," who examines the serious flaws found in electronic voting systems and how this could profoundly affect the public's trust in the machinery of democracy.


*"Black Box Voting, Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century" is published by Plan Nine. Visit the publisher's website for a free download of excerpts of the book at www.blackboxvoting.com

Related links


*"New Voting Technology Questioned," Kansas City Star, Sept. 22, 2003

*"Visualize a Fair Vote in 2004," by Greg Palast and Ina Howard, YES! Magazine, Aug. 22, 2003

*" Winning the Election - The Republican Way: Racism, Theft and Fraud in Florida," by Liam Scheff, The Weekly Dig, April 22, 2003
LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below:

www.btlonline.org
*
"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: www.btlonline.org
*
"Between the Lines," WPKN 89.5 FM's weekly radio news magazine can be heard Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. ET; Wednesdays at 8 a.m. ET and Saturdays at 2 p.m. ET (Wednesday's show airs at 7:30 a.m. ET during fundraising months of April and October).
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Weekly Summary" which features a RealAudio link to the week's program for Between The Lines, send an email to btlsummary-subscribe-AT-lists.riseup.net
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Q&A" which features a RealAudio link and weekly transcript to one of the interviews featured on Between The Lines, send an email to btlqa-subscribe-AT-lists.riseup.net
*
betweenthelines-AT-snet.net
*
Distributed by Squeaky Wheel Productions
*
©2003 Between The Lines. All Rights Reserved.
**