Six electronic voting machines used in two North Carolina counties lost 436 absentee ballot votes in the 2002 general election because of a software problem, raising increasing doubts about the accuracy and integrity of voting equipment in a presidential election year.
Election Systems & Software said problems with the firmware of its iVotronic touch-screen machines, used in a trial run, lost ballots in two North Carolina precincts during the state's early voting in 2002. ES&S, the largest U.S. maker of election equipment, is also the focus of attention into lost votes last month in Florida during a special election.
ES&S, Diebold Election Systems and other electronic voting-machine makers are coming under increasing scrutiny about the accuracy of their devices. The manufacturers claim their machines work fine and don't need auditing mechanisms -- like printers that would give voters receipts confirming their choices. But opponents are finding more and more anecdotal evidence of discrepancies and anomalies. In addition, more election officials and losing candidates are raising concerns as all U.S. counties move to replace mechanical devices with computer-controlled touch screens.
Our elections are being hijacked. And if this continues, we will lose control of our government at the state and local level.
The federal government is already out of control. But the state and local levels of government are our only in-roads to making a difference for the preservation of our rights.
Computerized voting will strip us of our rights, by making it really easy to manipulate local elections. It must be resisted!
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