e-Voting for the Candidate of Your Choice

Lessee, what to write about… Yankees vs. Red Sox? SCO launching a Web site dedicated to telling its side of the whole Linux debate issue? Oh wait! There’s an election going on. All you undecided voters out there, the pressure is on!

When November 2nd rolls around, get out there and cast your ballot. But in the meantime, why don’t you do a little light reading about the not-so-distant future of voting?

For a good overview of voting technology and the surrounding issues, check out the Caltech-MIT Voting Technology Project, which includes a Seven Step Checklist to make sure your vote gets counted.

The US Association for Computing Machinery also has a Policy Brief that includes numerous links to numerous e-voting policy documents.

If you’re looking for a skeptics-eye view of electronic voting systems, cruise by VerifiedVoting.org. The site features information about the dangers of electronic voting systems and advocates the continued use of paper-based systems to provide an audit trail plus public access to the e-voting equipment and random recounts to make sure the systems are working properly.

Skeptical or not, everyone should read Avi Rubin’s original analysisof a Diebold e-voting system that–he claims–showed the systems to be easily misused with minimal effort (he also posts a link to Diebold’s response.)

And if you’re already a convert to the anti e-voting movement, check out Black Box Voting, which is tracking issues with electronic voting systems and provides tips on how to become a member of the Cleanup Crew, a group dedicated to exposing problems with e-voting.

On the other side of the fence, you can start with Diebold, which has a section of its sitededicated to election system news and product information, as well as rebuttals to various claims against the systems.

If you’re looking for more pro e-voting information–you’re in the same boat that I am. It seems that most of the Web discussion around the issue is of the “anti” variety. Got a good link to some pro e-voting information? Send it my way at clindquist@cio.com.