NYCPHP Meetup

[inforequest]

Normally I would not support "political" posts to this list, but I 
attended a talk about the voting improprieties discovered during the 
investigations of the past year. Most of them were *not* technical but 
social engineering maneuvers which led to uncounted votes, mistakes, and 
breaks in the chain of authority which prevented accountability. It was 
recommended that people who can spot loopholes and irregularities 
volunteer to man polling places, participate in local community projects 
surrounding the voting process, etc. so that the foxes aren't the only 
ones guarding the chicken koop.

It is widely acknowledged that the people with those skillz are the 
techies like us.

I haven't looked at this particular group, but if it is simply about 
being involved and aware for the sake of due process, based on what I 
have seen it is an excellent idea.

-=john andrews

 



Bill Patterson patterson-at-computer.org |nyphp 04/2004| wrote:

> Here is an announcement I received, through the Philadelphia Linux 
> Users Group, indirectly from Moveon.org.  This announcement may be of 
> interest to NYPHPers.  --Bill
>
>
>
> The non-partisan Verified Voting Foundation is working with other
> voter protection groups to make sure every vote is counted,
> focusing its efforts on the new electronic voting terminals we're
> all concerned about.
>
> Their program is called TechWatch, and it will help reduce the risk
> that votes will be lost or miscounted by these machines and other
> technology.
>
> Please volunteer for TechWatch at:
>
> http://www.verifiedvoting.org/techwatch/
>
> Geeks who sign up with TechWatch will be able to help out both 
> beforehand and on Election Day.  You'll find out what kind of machines 
> are being used, how they are tested, and how to tell if they are being 
> used properly.  The responsibilities include:
>
> * Observing and documenting the Logic & Accuracy testing of
> voting technology by election officials before Election Day;
>
> * Monitoring the polls on Election Day (assigned to a single
> polling place or central election office);
>
> * Reporting incidents on Election Day (dispatched to particular  
> polling places when trouble is indicated).
>
> With your technical expertise, you can help document election
> problems for follow-on litigation and policymaking in a way
> that most poll watchers cannot.
>
> More than 500 technologists have already volunteered, but it will take 
> thousands of TechWatch Geeks to cover priority states and key 
> counties, starting with the Florida primary on August 31 and 
> continuing through to the November 2 general election.
>
> Also, if you like to code, Verified Voting Foundation has "an urgent 
> need for php programmers who want to assist with development of an 
> open-source Election Incident Reporting system from now until 
> September."  You can also sign up to help with this project at
> their web page.
>
> Please sign up today, at:
>
> http://www.verifiedvoting.org/techwatch/
>
> Thank you.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> - Peter Schurman
> MoveOn.org
> August 3, 2004
>
> P.S.: Paul Krugman of the New York Times wrote an important
> column on this issue on July 27:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/27/opinion/27krug.html
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