Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Holmes: Hacking the vote - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News

Holmes: Hacking the vote - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News "... here’s one almost no one wants to think about: Will the private companies who build and handle voting machines steal the election? A few people are trying to sound the alarm. Computer experts warn that touch-screen and optical scan voting systems can be easily hacked. Journalists point to irregularities in past elections. Academics analyze voting tallies and exit polls. Activists probe the policies and the politics of the companies to which America has outsourced its elections. Here in Massachusetts, Mike Ferriter and Sally Castleman try to get the attention of elected officials, without much luck. They bring videos, expert studies and serious concerns that U.S. elections could be — and may have been — rigged, and get nothing but shrugs. Conservative Republicans interested in making it harder to vote have money, media, think tanks and lobbyists pushing their solutions through Red State legislatures. The people pushing for an honest, transparent vote-count haven’t even been able to get an appointment with the Massachusetts Secretary of State." Read more: The MetroWest Daily News