FC: E-voting paper analyzes "usability" problems of current systems

[R. A. Hettinga]

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Status:  U
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2002 10:51:17 -0400
To: politech at politechbot.com
From: Declan McCullagh <declan at well.com>
Subject: FC: E-voting paper analyzes "usability" problems of current systems
Sender: owner-politech at politechbot.com
Reply-To: declan at well.com


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Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2002 04:00:00 -0400 (EDT)
To: <declan at well.com>
From: "Vincent J. Lipsio" <VJL at lipsio.com>
Subject: Foe of Electronic Voting on July 11 in Orlando

At the suggestion of a regular subscriber to Politech to
whom I had sent the below message, I'm forwarding to you.

Vince Lipsio

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Forwarded below is an email from Dr. Rebecca Mercuri whose
PhD dissertation contained a proof that an electronic voting
system can be either secure (tamper proof) or anonymous
(as in secret ballot), but NOT BOTH, "The requirement for
ballot privacy creates an unresolvable conflict with the
use of audit trails in providing security assurance".

She is a brilliant woman and I'd urge anyone concerned with
what she calls "scalabe ballot fraud" to attend her presentation
if feasable, but at to visit her website:
http://www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html

"I am adamantly opposed to the use of fully electronic or
Internet-based systems for use in anonymous balloting and
vote tabulation applications.  The reasons for my opposition
are manyfold, and are expressed in my writings as well as
those of other well-respected computer security experts.
At the present time, it is my strong recommendation that
all election officials REFRAIN from procuring ANY system
that does not provide an indisputable paper ballot. A
detailed explanation, along with my recommendation for
appropriately configured voting equipment, is provided in
the full text of this statement, available [on the website]."

Also, she is a Democrat and a committeewoman (in New Jersey).
In 2000, upon request of the Democratic Recount Committee,
she provided a sworn affidavit regarding the necessity of a
hand recount in the disputed Florida precincts.


Type to you later,
Vince

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Subject: Voting Usability
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 00:16:05 +0000

Rebecca Mercuri will be presenting an invited paper entitled "Humanizing
Voting Interfaces" at the Usability Professionals Association
conference,Orlando Florida, Thursday July 11, 10:30-Noon.

Information about her talk can be found at:
http://www.upassoc.org/new/conferences/2002/program/presentations/speakers_index.php,

and registration information for the conference is available at:
http://www.upassoc.org/new/conferences/2002/conf_index.php

This paper/presentation is a bit different from my usual fare, as it
focuses on usability issues rather than technology.  The paper will
be posted on the www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html website after
July 11.  Readers should find the reference list also of interest
(most of the citations can be found on the web).

NotableVoting subscribers may also want to follow the progress of
the House (H.R.3295) and Senate (S. 565) voting rights acts bills.
These have both been approved and now go to committee to try to get
conformity between the two pieces of legislation.  It is unclear how
long that process will take.  Although the bills mention auditability
of voting systems, they are both weak in that they allow the voting
device to produce its own audit trail (aka Enron?). Contact your
congresspeople and let them know what you think about that.
Information can be found on both bills via the government websites.

Litigation is ongoing in Florida (where new Sequoia machines managed
to not record 3% of the votes in a runoff election that had only
two candidates) and California (where the Central District Court
Western Division will be ruling on the constitutionality of self-
auditing voting systems).  Stay tuned for further developments.

Rebecca Mercuri.




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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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