Voting and technology have nothing resembling a smooth relationship. And as Nov. 4th fast approaches with its expected record voter turnouts, there’s a pretty good (translation: 99.999 percent) chance that the computers and scanners we rely on to register our identities, store our personal information, and correctly record our votes will fail us—in fact, screw-ups are already being reported, and it’s not even the October home stretch.
Given this heartening news, the question is not “Will voting technology break down during this election?” but rather “How can I keep the cyberworld from chewing up and spitting out my vote before I’ve even cast it?” Thankfully, while voter databases and e-voting machines are apt—perhaps even destined—to crash and burn, voters have an ally in the Internet, which offers a means of keeping an eye on details like whether you’re registered correctly (or at all).
So how likely is it that your local voter database has already made an error? Well, to test the system we decided check our registration status in New York, RB’s home state. And while RB endeavors (ahem) to remain non-partisan, we were very not at all surprised to find the following error:
To avoid suffering the same fate, we suggest you check your registration status online (all voters in New York can use this link). Find any errors in your home state’s database? Let us know in the comments!
Related:
Wired: The Interactive Voting Problems Map
DISCOVER: Protect Your Vote with Invisible Ink
RB: Voting in America: Let the Pre-Game Mess Begin!
RB: Sarah Palin Still Butchering Science, Redux
RB: Rumors Aside, Sarah Palin Is Still Butchering Science
RB: Don’t Know Much About Technology: McCain Tackles ScienceDebate Questions
November 4th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
It’s great on how a person with a minimal knowledge about technology can report on something. It’s true, that database entries can have errors and they are easily fixed. However, it’s true that ‘voting’ & ‘technology’ do not get along, BUT… look at how the military’s vote cannot be cast because their absentee ballots were late.
If you must report on something, please KNOW what you’re talking about. It’s my first time on discover mazagine, and I take you guys as a TOTAL JOKE.
Guess that’s why I never heard of this crappy discovermazagine before, I’d rather read scholastic’s mazagine for children.