Well, I did my civic duty and voted this morning. I have my misgivings about the entire election process and the corruption that abounds in the government, but if I refuse to vote, then I really can’t complain, can I.
So, after waking up and getting ready for work, I headed to the local polling location to check out the Diebold AccuVote TSX system they wanted me to vote on. It’s a neat looking machine from afar, but once I got up close, I was sorely disappointed.
I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but these seemed to be very flimsy, rushed systems. The touchscreen didn’t feel right, tho it was presumably accurate, lighting up my choices as I chose them. There was a slight delay after I touched the screen, however, and that was annoying. The first time I tried to vote, it rejected the card I was given and flashed an error about being cleared. Well, I hope that’s what it said. Thinking back on it now, I’m upset that I didn’t take more time to read the screen. I’m honestly not sure if the error stated that the card was cleared, or that the machine was cleared. And when I returned the card for one that worked, the lady I gave it to mentioned that there were a bunch of cards she was having problems with. Not good..
On a positive note, the mechanism that held and ejected the voting card seemed to be well built. It worked well. I think that’s about the only piece that I thought was decent though. Kinda pathetic actually.
Speaking of the Diebold machines, I urge you to check out the HBO special, “Hacking Democracy.” The entire show is up on Google Video for your viewing pleasure. You can access the video here.