--- Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2002 04:00:00 -0400 (EDT) To: <declanat_private> From: "Vincent J. Lipsio" <VJLat_private> Subject: Foe of Electronic Voting on July 11 in Orlando At the suggestion of a regular subscriber to Politech to whom I had sent the below message, I'm forwarding to you. Vince Lipsio ------------------------------------------------------------ Forwarded below is an email from Dr. Rebecca Mercuri whose PhD dissertation contained a proof that an electronic voting system can be either secure (tamper proof) or anonymous (as in secret ballot), but NOT BOTH, "The requirement for ballot privacy creates an unresolvable conflict with the use of audit trails in providing security assurance". She is a brilliant woman and I'd urge anyone concerned with what she calls "scalabe ballot fraud" to attend her presentation if feasable, but at to visit her website: http://www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html "I am adamantly opposed to the use of fully electronic or Internet-based systems for use in anonymous balloting and vote tabulation applications. The reasons for my opposition are manyfold, and are expressed in my writings as well as those of other well-respected computer security experts. At the present time, it is my strong recommendation that all election officials REFRAIN from procuring ANY system that does not provide an indisputable paper ballot. A detailed explanation, along with my recommendation for appropriately configured voting equipment, is provided in the full text of this statement, available [on the website]." Also, she is a Democrat and a committeewoman (in New Jersey). In 2000, upon request of the Democratic Recount Committee, she provided a sworn affidavit regarding the necessity of a hand recount in the disputed Florida precincts. Type to you later, Vince ------------ Begin Forwarded Message ------------ Subject: Voting Usability Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 00:16:05 +0000 Rebecca Mercuri will be presenting an invited paper entitled "Humanizing Voting Interfaces" at the Usability Professionals Association conference,Orlando Florida, Thursday July 11, 10:30-Noon. Information about her talk can be found at: http://www.upassoc.org/new/conferences/2002/program/presentations/speakers_index.php, and registration information for the conference is available at: http://www.upassoc.org/new/conferences/2002/conf_index.php This paper/presentation is a bit different from my usual fare, as it focuses on usability issues rather than technology. The paper will be posted on the www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html website after July 11. Readers should find the reference list also of interest (most of the citations can be found on the web). NotableVoting subscribers may also want to follow the progress of the House (H.R.3295) and Senate (S. 565) voting rights acts bills. These have both been approved and now go to committee to try to get conformity between the two pieces of legislation. It is unclear how long that process will take. Although the bills mention auditability of voting systems, they are both weak in that they allow the voting device to produce its own audit trail (aka Enron?). Contact your congresspeople and let them know what you think about that. Information can be found on both bills via the government websites. Litigation is ongoing in Florida (where new Sequoia machines managed to not record 3% of the votes in a runoff election that had only two candidates) and California (where the Central District Court Western Division will be ruling on the constitutionality of self- auditing voting systems). Stay tuned for further developments. Rebecca Mercuri. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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