e voting (receipts, votebuying, brinworld)

[Tim May]

On Nov 24, 2003, at 3:52 PM, Bill Frantz wrote:

> At 2:30 PM -0800 11/24/03, Major Variola (ret) wrote:
>> At 01:04 PM 11/24/03 -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:
>>> Thats not how it works. The idea is that you make your choices on
>>> the machine, and when you lock them in, two things happen: They
>>> are electronically recorded in the device for the normal count, and
>>> also, a paper receipt is printed. The voter checks the receipt to
>>> see if it accurately records his choices, and then is required to
>>> put it in a ballot box retained at the polling site.
>>>
>>> If there's a need for a recount, the paper receipts can be checked.
>>>
>>> I imagine a well designed system might show the paper receipt through
>>> a window, but not let it be handled, to prevent serial fraud.
>>
>> Vinny the Votebuyer pays you if you send a picture of your
>> face adjacent to the committed receipt, even if you can't touch it.
> [more deleted]
>
> It depends on what happens to the receipt when you say commit.  It 
> could
> automatically go into the ballot box without delay, so you can't take 
> such
> a photo.

If it goes in without any delay, without any chance for Suzie the 
Sheeple to examine it, then why bother at all? Simply issue an 
"assurance" to Suzie that her ballot was duly copied to an adjacent 
memory store or counting box.

When she says "Then why did you people even bother?," just shrug and 
say "They told us to do it."

As Major Variola said a few messages ago, as soon as human eyes can see 
it, machines and cameras and cellphones and eavesdroppers and Vinnie 
the Votebuyer can see it.

I expect there may be some good solutions to this issue, but I haven't 
yet seen them discussed here or on other fora I run across. And since 
encouraging the democrats has never been a priority for me, I haven't 
spent much time worrying about how to improve democratic elections.

And since a person should be completely free to sell his or her vote, 
99% of the measures to stop vote-buying are bogus on general 
principles.

--Tim May
--Tim May, Occupied America
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin, 1759.