Tag Archives: electronic voting machines

LWV to look at Harris County election security

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I look forward to seeing their results. The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area plans to study the cybersecurity of Harris County’s election system, but the non-partisan group may not be able to gather all the information it … Continue reading →

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Hacking voting machines

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to leave this here. Google and Apple invite hackers to find flaws in their code and offer hefty rewards to those who find them. It’s a common practice in the industry. The government’s done it too, with programs like “Hack … Continue reading →

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Denton County returns to paper ballots

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I hadn’t realized this. Denton has been using a hybrid voting system that employs both electronic and paper ballots for about a decade. But county officials recently approved spending just shy of $9 million to buy new voting equipment from … Continue reading →

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More on the STAR Voting System

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron updates us on the latest in modern voting technology. The drumbeat of election rigging and foreign hacking of voting machines have energized ongoing efforts to develop a new model of digital election equipment designed to produce instantly verifiable … Continue reading →

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As long as we’re talking about improving our voting machines

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Then this is what we should be talking about. [Travis] County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir called Rice University computer science professor Dan Wallach, who has been poking holes in voting-machine security for years. He’s testified before Congress on the subject. Now … Continue reading →

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Wait, who supports paper ballots now?

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Following repeated allegations by Republican Donald Trump that the election may be rigged to ensure a win for Democrat Hillary Clinton, Texas lawmakers are actively considering ways to boost confidence in the … Continue reading →

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Dan Wallach: The case for not letting everybody vote by mail

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You know who Dan Wallach is by now. Voting systems and security are in his wheelhouse, and when he sent this to me in response to this, I was happy to queue it up. Vote by mail (VBM) is cheaper! … Continue reading →

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The case for letting everyone vote by mail

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Washington Monthly in an article written by a former Secretary of State for Oregon, lays it out. Presidential elections still attract a majority of America’s voters. For all other elections, however, democracy is mostly a spectator sport. In the … Continue reading →

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Our obsolete voting machines

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the Brennan Center: Executive Summary In January 2014, the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration (PCEA) issued a stern warning that should be of grave concern to all Americans: There is an “impending crisis … from the widespread wearing … Continue reading →

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How many candidates are too many?

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Rivard Report brings up a point I hadn’t considered before. Candidates or their representatives arrived at City Council chambers Monday morning to draw lots to determine the order of name placement on the ballot. As candidates waited in the … Continue reading →

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Paper ballots make a comeback

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Everything Old Is New Again department: States have abandoned electronic voting machines in droves, ensuring that most voters will be casting their ballots by hand on Election Day. With many electronic voting machines more than a decade old, … Continue reading →

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Travis County pursues new voting machines

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very, very interesting. With the nation facing what a January government report described as an “impending crisis” in voting technology, officials in Travis County are taking matters into their own hands by seeking to create a unique, next-generation system of … Continue reading →

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When will we have truly electronic voting?

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

When will there be an app to cast a vote in a US election? So at a time when we can see video shot by a robot on Mars, when there are cars that can drive themselves, and when we … Continue reading →

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On voter confidence

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There was one more interesting aspect to that poll of Harris County from last week, and it had to do with how confident voters were that the vote they cast would be counted. This KUHF story goes into that result. … Continue reading →

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DOJ refuses to preclear South Carolina voter ID law

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday rejected as discriminatory a South Carolina law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The action by the department’s civil rights division, coupled with Attorney General Eric Holder’s call 10 … Continue reading →

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County’s voting machines get new home

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hope for no more fires. Harris County is buying a building to house voting machines and other equipment that will replace a warehouse destroyed by fire last August. The $4.35 million purchase of a facility on Todd Road near … Continue reading →

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Texas Supreme Court dismisses voting machine lawsuit

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This came out late Friday. Dealing a blow to critics of electronic voting machines, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a case brought by Travis County voters that alleged the machines were not secure or reliable. The machines “are … Continue reading →

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Moving the primaries back

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In the 2007 legislative session, there was some energy to move the primary date up in Texas, on the theory that an earlier primary would finally enable Texas voters to have a say in the Presidential process, which was usually … Continue reading →

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HCDP apologizes to Slate and Valenzuela

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following is a statement from HCDP Chair Gerry Birnberg regarding the recent lawsuit that was filed by two judicial candidates who did not get the ballot placement they had drawn. At the January 7 ballot drawing, Dennis Slate, a … Continue reading →

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Federal court rules for TDP in voting machine case

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little surprised by this. A three-judge panel has ruled that Dallas County election officials violated federal law when they did not inform the Department of Justice about changes in the way straight-party votes are counted on electronic voting … Continue reading →

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More vote centers coming to Texas

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I personally really like the concept of “vote centers”, which is basically Early Voting locations done on Election Day as well. I like them because it means you never have to worry about which polling place you need to go … Continue reading →

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Ballot order

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the ballot order for the November city elections. I don’t know how much being listed first really means – whatever it means, it likely varies a great deal from election to election, depending on the turnout and the level … Continue reading →

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