Reply #20: The tabulators are the easiest place to hack for sure

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

It is as simple as changing a few numbers in a database.

With a DRE, there is no audit trail. Once the numbers are placed in the central tabulator, there is no good way to check them against the precinct numbers during a recount, since the precint has no record other than the DRE memory cards.

If there is no audit trail, it is much easier to cheat without being caught.

As a matter of fact, if there is no audit trail, there is no way to prove to the electorate that this election was valid. An audit trail should be an absolute legal requirement for our election systems, whether they are computerized or all paper.

IMO, the best solution is to use optical scanners where you mark the circles with a pencil. That way you have a paper ballot, in the form of a scanner card that can be preserved at the precinct level. This provides a precinct by precinct audit trail if it is needed.