Are we to presume that Goa (and some other states in India) use superior technology? Could someone with a technical background explain whether the varying sophistication level would make a difference in the concerns voice below?
During a recent election in Goa, the authority took plains to 'refute' the allegation that the EVMs (electronic voting machines) could betray voter-secrecy. Since pockets of the Goan elecotrate tend to be sometimes homegenous, it can be possible that politicians know or guess exactly which vaddo supported which candidate. Conclusions based on the caste/communal profile could then be drawn. This was the reason why, in the days of paper ballots, the votes used to be mixed throoughly prior to counting. FN - - - - - - - - - - - - - FORWARDED POST- - - - - - - - - - - HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY FOR VOTING MACHINES Citing a highly critical report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Rice University, Maryland Governor Robert L. Erhlich Jr. has called for an independent audit of touch-screen voting machines from Diebold Election Systems. The state has bought and used 5,000 of the machines already and plans to purchase another 11,000, to be used statewide next year. The Johns Hopkins researchers said they uncovered fundamental flaws in the security of the software for the voting machines. Avi Rubin, one of the authors of the report, described the source code as not deserving of a "C-minus grade in an undergraduate computer-programming course." Rubin said that where cryptography is used at all in the code, it is used improperly. Diebold refuted the findings of the report, saying the researchers only looked at part of the code and that it has already fixed the problems noted. Science Applications International Corp. will conduct the audit, and many observers expect the results of the audit to determine whether Maryland, as well as other states, will continue using the machines. Wired News, 12 August 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59976,00.html ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
