Reply #32

People get worked up about what has been obvious all along, namely that it's impossible to have a democracy when the vote is counted in total secrecy without verification, sometimes without even the possibility of verification. There are always a good number of obvious problems with the machines, though it's never possible to know for sure since it's either practically impossible to get an audit or recount or it's not possible at all (all touch-screen voting w/ no paper). A few bold people suggest we should have "hand-counted paper ballots," but they don't speak very loud for fear of being noticed too much.

Then, two weeks after the vote, everybody forgets about it and goes back to business as usual. Essentially nobody gives a damn anymore. There are always a dozen other essential issues to be concerned about: the environment, the economy, corruption in high places, social security, medicare, etc.

Who is it that deals with all the problems? The people elected by a flawed election system, in which nobody can be sure that those elected were actually the winners.