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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHanging chad redux? US heading for 2000-style election catastrophe, report finds
Voting technology deployed by most states across the US is now so antiquated it is in danger of breaking down, experts say
The United States is heading for another catastrophe in its voting system equivalent to the notorious hanging chad affair that shook the country in 2000 and propelled George W Bush into the White House, experts on electoral procedures are warning.
The voting technology deployed by most states around the country is now so antiquated and unreliable that it is in danger of breaking down at any time, the experts say. Some states are having to go on eBay to buy spare parts for machines that are no longer manufactured.
The extent of decay in Americas electoral infrastructure is laid bare in a new report from the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan institute at the New York University School of Law specializing in democracy and justice. Having consulted more than 100 voting specialists in all 50 states, the center concludes that the country is facing an impending crisis in the way it conducts elections
As Louisianas secretary of state Tom Schedler put it to an official hearing recently: Its getting a little scary out there.
The center discovered that at least 31 states have recognized they need to buy new voting machines within the next five years, yet, of those, 22 said they had no idea how they were going to pay for them. The jurisdictions with equipment reaching the end of its natural lifespan cover about 40 million registered voters, and account for 387 of the 538 electoral college votes that decide the presidency.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/15/2016-election-old-voting-machines-hanging-chad
GoneFishin
(5,217 posts)octoberlib
(14,971 posts)another coup
tech3149
(4,452 posts)Sometimes simpler is better and generally more reliable.
LuvNewcastle
(16,856 posts)enough ballots, we wouldn't have to worry about it. We might not know the results for a day or two, but we'd survive. Why is it necessary that we know the results on election night? We can wait at least until we get up the next morning.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)...when the general population tries to elect a POTUS accountable to them.
The ruling class knows what's good for you.
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