The Liberal Patriot

The Myth of the Paper Trail

J.G. Schwam - April 30, 2004

There is an old saying in information technology, garbage in garbage out. Simplified it means bad programs produce bad results. If if the alleged flaws in the electronic voting machines made by Diebold subsidiary Diebold Election Systems however could simply be dismissed by proving they were based on bad code, doing so would be easy. The problem is one thing that everyone person who has written computer code knows. It is that code can be written to apply different algorithms written within a program to apply different outcomes to different processes within the system. Explained this means that a voting machines code can be written to for instance, tally every third vote for candidate A as a vote for candidate B while printing out a record showing the users actual choice.

If no independent public access such as a voter board or precinct captains to the tally database or online code revision is allowed by the machine manufacturer then no code flaws or worse malicious manipulation of the code to achieve a predetermined result can ever be proven or disproved. Such ambiguousness in the tally of votes is not acceptable.

Even if it was believed the integrity of a manufacturers code was above reproach the Diebold machines use an off-polling place central server to store and compile individual tallies to report a citywide or statewide result which requires a dialup or dedicated network connection. Meaning; while firewall technology to prevent unauthorized access to such connection is very good, any internet or firewall administrator will tell you, nothing is un-hackable with persistence and a little luck.

Further still, let us not be naïve. There are millions of Americans to whom a couple of million dollars is enough to retire in style in Mexico or Florida and would gladly take it to hack or false code a system. Bush’s backers probably spent at least that much in legal fees to seize the 2000 election. Let us not doubt for a minute that there in this country today ethically challenged businessmen with a multi-million dollar stake in a national election to whom a two million dollar investment in forgone election result is chump change.

Truth be told, the most un-hackable system is a paper ballot placed into a locked, sealed box delivered under guard to a tally site staffed by independent auditors, reviewed by bi-partisan observers. Canada does it this way, so does France, England, Spain and dozens of other nations where election accuracy is not challenged. With a review of the signature sheets at the polling place, should ballots be stolen or ballot boxes be stuffed it is obvious.

Since Walden O’Dell the CEO of Deibold Inc., the parent company of Diebold Elections Systems heads a company that has donated $195 thousand in soft money dollars to the RNC has publicly regretted saying he promised to “deliver Ohio” for Bush in 2004 after installing his machines across the state, it it would be foolhardy to dismiss thoughts that any questionable motives may have at least been thought of. The “deliver Ohio” statement may just be too telling.

A paper trail, printed out by a computerized voting machine capable of being monitored and updated real time while the polling place is open without the knowledge of the voter board offers no protection from fraud.

The discussion that a paper receipt or paper trail printed by such a machine offers auditable proof of election results is a myth. Basic IT theory and standard practices are proof that an electronically generated receipt simply provides no such guarantee.

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