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For the Politics Articles and Blogs (continued)

Florida. The problem of the hanging chad wasn't the voters. It was with the lax maintenance of election equipment [and defective punchcards] that prevented the chads from being poked out cleanly.... www.dvorak.org.

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Dan Rather's report is compelling & long overdue. But it's not just the hardware or paper trail. If we are to secure one voter, one vote... every-time, our government agencies must become more business savvy. St. Louis political blog, PubDef.Net.

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Is Manilla to blame? [Dan Rather's Report] Although there's plenty of blame to spread around, I don't believe it sticks on poor Manilla for trying to comply with cheaper-faster production. Top down, not bottom up... Maine Democrats.

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Holding makers of electronic registration and voting equipment more accountable does not ensure a good election... especially if we find their system flaws after the voting takes place... Blog Cleveland.

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Voting system requirements should be technology-neutral. However, our election laws should not...Computers, paper, people will fail. Election laws must recognize technological voting anomalies... www.FCW.com

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Our voices, our votes are indeed at the heart of democracy. At the same time, I believe wholeheartedly in the advantages of computerized election systems (and banking systems and business systems and etc.) It's not the computers that run us amok. It's the absence of good business practices that allow, even invite poor quality, lack of security, and yes corruption. Forums.chron.com.

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If we are to achieve one voter, one vote... every time, we must go back to basics. Apply sound business practices to ensure the voting systems we purchase fully meet our needs for election integrity. And ensure those machines work... all of them. Not just a sampling. We're caught in a tailspin of bottom-up catch and fix of serious flaws that should have been addressed prior to purchase. Moreover, until we also fix our laws to be on par with technology, to protect us from machine and human error, and human interpretation of election results our election process will continue to be broken...IPS News.

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We should be more business wise. If our vendors and elections officials had spent the time upfront following good-business practices, we wouldn't be facing another questionable election. The problem isn't that our voting machines are flawed. The real problem is that they didn't find the failures before they were purchased. We're not picking out speak-and-spell toys here. We're running a country.   And it's not just the paper. If we are to secure one voter, one vote...every-time integrity in our election process, we must.... Community.chhi.com, www.meridianstar.com.

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Ballot Scanners cannot secure one voter, one vote foolproof/geekproof elections. Ballot scanners are still stand-alone independent vote counting machines. The will break. They will hiccup. And they will miscount, miscalculate and misplace votes. For sure paper provides recount capabilities, but until our laws recognize and enforce recounts and/or do-overs in all situations where technology produces statistically infallible results, election officials and the courts can still decide the people's choice. Riskman.typepad

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Ohio has called in the experts, while Florida hunkers down in the swamp with the alligators snapping at our heels. Florida's rush to purchase another round of ES&S voting machines demonstrates our lack of good business practices... Computerworld.com.

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Remember, "It's the economy, stupid?" It's NOT the paper! Paper offers the means to recount. Period. Sadly, even a papertrail will not ensure one-voter-one-vote-every-time with the new state-of-the-art independent, stand-alone vote counting machines. Optical ballot scanners are just as suspect as touch screens.... CrooksAndLiars.

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We can fix the machines but until our election laws catch up with technology, our election processes will continue to be broken. Touch screens, ballot scanners, voting machines...Computers, paper, people will fail. We must revamp election laws to recognize technological anomalies and statistically improbable results....The latest on the Holt Election Reform Bill...Restrict DRE Touch Screen. BradBlog.com

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Time to stop flitting from fix to fix. Past time to get it right... Implement high-bar guidelines for voting machine providers and elections officials. Moreover, we must realign election laws to fit today's technology, to protect us from machine and human error and HUMAN INTERPRETATION of election results. Otherwise that silent coup marching across the country in BALLOTS OF STRAW's fictitious voting machines just might become reality. www.rationalreview.com.

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Holt's bill in its strongest form did not look at our voting process in its entirety, top down and bottom up. Hit-and-miss fixes generally work about as well as plugging a hole in a sieve. It's the entire process---the computers, systems, people, paper and... the laws.... Continued. John Edwards.

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We're jogging across quicksand in lead hip-boots. Until we look at the big picture, our elections will continue to be broken. We need tighter, better, wiser controls...Continued. Reddit.

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Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning assures us that our voting machines are fixed. This is the same Kurt Browning who drilled to the core of our voting problems when on NPR he asked if the amount of time spent in defending the voting system or trying to prove to the public that it's accurate and secure is worth the effort. The irony of his words is that you can't run a good election if your machines don't work. If our vendors and elections officials had spent the time upfront following good-business practices, we wouldn't be facing another questionable election... The Ledger, Lakeland, Polk Country.

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