I suspect that all the new voting equipment just gave the United States one of the cleanest and fraud free elections in its history.

Paper voting might feel better, but the margin of error is too high. It is technically easier to stuff boxes with paper ballots, remove ballots or even replace an entire ballot boxes than it is to get at a protected database.

While most of us are paranoid about using credit cards online, most indentity theft seems to come from printed receipts, than from online purchases. I suffered several instances of cashiers charging my card the wrong amount, I have not had a case of a web site charging my card a different amount than reported on the machine.

In this election, I am less concerned with the voting machines than I am with what appears to be a one sided effort posed to discredit the election if it did not turn out in the Democrat’s favor. I’ve been to meetings where the talking point was to put together a case that Republicans rigged the election. The effort should be placed on assuring the quality of the vote. I fear that some of the current poll watching effort was designed to discredit the election process.

If the world falls into the pattern of the left discrediting all elections that they lose, then we will end up dstroying the ability to engage in democracy. Look at the post election violence in Mexico. The dictator’s mantra is: If you can’t win, then discredit the process.

I am so thankful that the Republicans lost the House and probably the Senate. If more Republicans had turned out to vote, then we would be bombarded with accusations of fraud.

Historically, election fraud has occurred in both parties. My family came from the South. The greater part of the effort to prevent blacks from voting prior to the civil rights movement came from Democrats trying to keep blacks from siding with the party of Lincoln. Arguably, some of the fraud and election intimidation changed party when the Dixiecrats split from the Democratic party.

It appears that election fraud has existed in both parties. It appears that the fraud sometimes moves from party to party. In states with corrupt political machines, one occasionally finds news stories of an entire cemetery switching parties prior to a primary.

To make matters worse, sometimes fraudsters project their methods onto their opponent. A person who commits fraud might project a claim of fraudulent behavior onto their opponent.

Instead of a one-sided effort to make us fear the election process, I wish the effort was concentrated on assuring accuracy and quality of the vote.

The machine I used did both a database entry and printed the votes on a role of paper. This mechanism with a paper trail and database entry is probably the cleanest and most accurate way of polling the vote. I think the new equipment is making the process more accurate. Considering the problems of paper ballots, I don’t think they have the accuracy needed in the paper thin margins that have occurred in recent years.

Regards,
utahgirl

In Utah, and many other states, a roll of registered voters is prepared before the election day. A manual tally is kept at the poll and reported independently of the vote totals. If there is a discrepancy it is usually big trouble. In our case we were EXACT. Of course it took a lot of work to get that far, and no we did not use Diebold equipment.

Just remember that the bigest problems with the election process in the United States today are:

1. The average age of poll workers and election judges in the United States is 72 years. Maybe it is time for the youunger, more techincal generations, to get involved.

2. The press is all too quick to proclaim a winner WAY TO FAST. In our case we literally had to kick out members of the press while we were going through the tedious process of tabulating votes. It is a VERY LONG DAY for most election workers that started for us at about 4:00 AM.

3. I love paper ballots because it gives an ultimate tool for verifying the vote. Unfortunately paper ballots can be a problem for the machines that are used to count them. Far too many voters will fold, mangle, and otherwise damage ballots. I saw ballots that were so damages, smeared with heaven knows what, that it makes me wonder how it is possible for County Clerks to get even close.

We have a lot to imporve in the process, but then there are also a lot of safeties in place as well.

Looking at the vote that has now been reported dosen’t look great for Pete, but then IT SENDS A STRONG MESSAGE to Hatch. It is really time for him to retire, as he stated his wife had mentioned to him, while in a meeting of business leaders earler this year in Box Elder county. hatch is out of touch and Pete is not. I have spoken with hundreds of friends and associates over the last several months, and it was rare to find someone who would not agree that it was time for Hatch to go. The problem is that he launched a huge TOUCHEY FEELEY campaign as it got closer.

If only Hatch had told the whole story, like explaining how bold he is while saying how old he is. Or explaining that being in office so long gave him the power of influence, but then left him out of touch (so we are left with an influence peddlre).

No matter how it turns out I am SO PROUD of the job that Pete has done! Hatch is a very difficult opponent, in a very diffiult state. All I can say is congratulations on an amazing campaign, and one that was relatively free of the kinds of trouble that tends to degrade the process.

Keep up the good work Pete!

I can imagine a scenario where a machine is programed to count ever 3rd vote for a dem as a repub, but to print up what the person enters on the printed receipt. Without an open source code, anything can happen. Public elections are too important for trade secrets by a company that is ultra-supportive of the Republican party

I share the same concerns about “straight-party” voting, too…