Reply #18: Touch-Screen Voting Isn't The Right Answer

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Published on Friday, March 31, 2006 by the Baltimore Sun
Touch-Screen Voting Isn't The Right Answer
by John Schneider


A debate over the use of electronic voting machines in Maryland generally has focused on words such as "security," "interpretive code" and "hacking."

The arguments tend to pit the reliability and safety of one machine against the other and compare the veracity and experience of expert vs. expert. They are earnestly written, articulately defended and, in many cases, factually accurate.

Unfortunately, they are also largely beside the point.

This isn't surprising: There are powerful commercial and political interests vying for the upper hand, with much prestige and profit at stake. Still, the debate has been incorrectly framed, and voters are the poorer for it.

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http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0331-29.htm