House OKs bill allowing overseas Internet voting
Published: April 17, 2009
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama House has passed a bill that
would allow some Alabama residents overseas to cast their ballots
over secure Internet connections.
The bill would change the way voters overseas request ballots
and cast their votes. That includes military personnel fighting in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
The House approved the bill by Democratic Rep. Jimmy Martin of
Clanton on a 89-3 vote Thursday. It now goes to the Senate for
debate.
One of the “no” votes was cast by Democratic Rep. John
Robinson of Scottsboro. He says the bill does not provide funds to
his county to set up the Internet voting system.
The bill is supported by Secretary of State Beth Chapman.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
In an online banking transaction, all the parties want the same accurate result. Nonetheless, about 2 - 3% of online banking transactions are attempted frauds. Identity thefts, packet intercepts and a plethora of techniques are used. Some are caught in time and some aren’t.
In online voting, the parties want different results. The same opportunities for fraud exist, except one side (the minority) will battle any effort to assure the validity of any vote, because the minority knows it can’t win any other way than by suppressing or stealing votes.
Computerized voting of any sort, one that does not provide for meaningful audits of paper ballots, can not be trusted. Use of the internet just provides another set of opportunities to steal votes.
How do you know computer tabulations are correct? By thorough audits, which cost more than merely counting by hand in the first place. If you don’t have hand audits or counts, you have no reason to believe any number coming out of a computer tabulator.
Advertisement