Hacking Democracy

HBO is airing a disturbing, but important, documentary this week (one that's apparently angering the Diebold company) called 'Hacking Democracy'. It debuted tonight, but it will be airing again on Saturday and likely at least once more this weekend as well. I watched parts of it; it's pretty sobering stuff. From their synopsis-

Electronic voting machines count about 87% of the votes cast in America today. But are they reliable? Are they safe from tampering? From a current congressional hearing to persistent media reports that suggest misuse of data and even outright fraud, concerns over the integrity of electronic voting are growing by the day. And if the voting process is not secure, neither is America's democracy. The timely, cautionary documentary HACKING DEMOCRACY exposes gaping holes in the security of America's electronic voting system...

Salon has a detailed review- here.

I guess I should consider myself lucky to some degree that my district still uses the clunky metal machines with the big lever. No chads, no electronic 'glitches' switching my vote to Republican-- just the good ol'-fashioned lever of democracy.

And with the election days away, more stories of concern are cropping up...

BradBlog: HERE WE GO AGAIN: 'Just Push the Yellow Button and Vote as Many Times as You Want' on Sequoia Touch-Screen Voting Machines!

AP: E-mail ballots for military questioned

Drudge Report: 12 SMARTCARDS GO MISSING IN TENNESSEE; CONTROL ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES

These issues were mostly ignored after 2000 and 2004. Let's hope this year that changes.

Finally, CNN's Jack Cafferty looks at efforts to monitor the elections for potential fraud.