As I recently said to a friend: “I fucking hate being right.”

And he said “I fucking hate you being right.”

(he was never in disagreement, he just still had a sliver of hope)

  • booly@sh.itjust.works
    81·
    3 months ago

    I’ve been against electronic voting in the USA for years. Many states, especially the so called battleground states, rely on these for the most of the results.

    Direct Recording Electronic voting machines are less common now, and DRE machines without voter verifiable paper receipts are even less common. Here is a state by state list. Louisiana is the only state with statewide DRE without paper verification. The other states that permit precincts to use DRE without paper are Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma (only for those in need of assistive technology), Tennessee, and Texas. So that’s one state that uses totally electronic voting statewide, 5 states that permit it in some instances, and 44 (plus DC) that prohibit electronic voting without a paper trail. And none of the states with DRE and no paper trail are swing states (although many have swing districts).

    I think it was a bigger problem before, but is getting phased out.

      • booly@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        2 months ago

        many places give printouts and receipts but no recounts use these, if recounts done at all

        You’re wrong on this. Look at the link I posted. Pure DRE processes have mostly been phased out.

        For most places, even the initial count is by paper ballot, marked by machines (and verifiable by the voter before they drop the official ballot into the official box). Recounts may or may not use machines.

          • booly@sh.itjust.works
            1·
            2 months ago

            The exit poll isn’t the canonical vote count. The ballots are. Exit polls are subject to sampling bias or other statistical anomalies. Ballots are not, because there is no sampling. The complete set of ballots is the vote.

            A ballot count might not match up with the ballots themselves, but an exit poll would be at most weak evidence of that, especially when the ballots still exist in physical form to be recounted, in plain view of both major parties.

            There has long been a disconnect between the politically chattering social classes and the nerds who have been saying the tech here is too easily manipulated.

            The “tech” is literal pieces of paper in 44 states, and most parts of 5 more. If you’re complaining about DRE machines, then you should cheer on the fact that they’re being phased out and that they’re only in wide use in 1 out of 50 states.

            And if you’re complaining about ballot stuffing then you’re no longer complaining about tech at all, and are talking about the physical integrity of ballot boxes. Go ahead and do the audits there, but show your work instead of complaining about electronic voting.