« Could Twitter Be a Tool for Terrorists?
Let’s Save Science! Inside the Innovation 2008 Science Policy Conference »

Voting in America, Redux: You Can’t Vote Here, But You Can Vote in Space

submit to reddit

astronautOne week left ’til Election Day 2008, and voter turnout is expected to obliterate records. Of course, whether those record numbers of voters turn into record numbers of counted votes remains to be seen. In addition to the smorgasbord of disasters that could befall your vote before it gets tallied, the first hurdle will be voter registration, creating a gatekeeper you’ll have to pass just to get in the door.

Chances are, your voter registration information has been entered into a computer database run by your state. And chances also are that it’s been entered wrong—no, seriously, it has. As a result of all this error and confusion, just about everyone is worried that legions of voters could be turned away at the polls. Even the Association for Computing Machinery is getting in the act, stating the following in press release:

Experts from ACM’s U.S. Public Policy Committee (USACM) will be monitoring and analyzing the reliability of registration records and voting equipment around the nation as Election Day approaches.

ACM’s report on VRDs [voter registration databases] includes 99 high-level recommendations to help states establish best practices for computerized statewide electronic databases…For example, the ACM report recommends that when driver registration databases are used for eligibility checks, they should apply only to screening voters, not to automatically enrolling or de-enrolling them.

Yes, great idea! Call us when it’s implemented in 2012.

Of course, in the irony of all ironies, NASA is making sure that any Americans currently in orbit are able to vote from space, courtesy of a secure electronic ballot uplinked by the Johnson Space Center. This year, two men aboard the International Space Station plan to cast their ballots from 220 miles above the Earth. Let’s just hope they’ve been reading the news.

Related:
RB: Voting in America: Let the Pre-Game Mess Begin!
RB: Lose Your House, Lose Your Vote, Lose Your Self-Esteem
RB: Advocacy Group May Have Registered Phony “Voters.” But Does It Matter?
RB: Be Very Afraid: Online Voting Systems Fail Even for Political Bloggers

October 28th, 2008 Tags: ,
by Melissa Lafsky in Science Goes to Washington, The 2008 Election | 25 comments | RSS feed | Trackback >

25 Responses to “Voting in America, Redux: You Can’t Vote Here, But You Can Vote in Space”

  1. 1.   stella Says:
    November 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am

    ——– WE JUST LIVE HERE ——-

    WeJustLiveHere.com is a 2008 presidential election site for US aliens. It’s for all of us who live here and pay our taxes, yet have no say in how the country is run.

    We’d all love to vote in this election because it impacts us as much as folks who’re just born here. So we put up this site to show what would happen if the millions of US aliens who can’t vote, could.

    We’d be more than happy if you could help spread the word.

    We’ll also throw alien election night parties around the country, where voters come dressed as aliens. If you’re in the neighborhood, let us know!

    More information:
    USaliens@wejustlivehere.com

    P.S. WeJustLiveHere is completely non-partisan.

  2. 2.   Skinny Ties Says:
    May 6th, 2009 at 5:21 am

    Thanks very much for your blog. Will eb back!

  3. 3.   fbslvsrwuqq Says:
    October 13th, 2009 at 4:47 am

    nlYTJR edldtakkjlbc, [url=http://fjsdrriihgiv.com/]fjsdrriihgiv[/url], [link=http://jggimcrzffoo.com/]jggimcrzffoo[/link], http://slzhxuhoaqcl.com/

  4. 4.   vbbnvb Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

    celebrity nudecelebrity nude fakescelebrity nude photoscelebrity nude picscelebrity nude picturescelebrity nude scenescelebrity nude videoscelebrity pics nudecelebritys nudechanning tatum nudecharisma carpenter nudecharity hodges nudecharlize theron nudecheerleaders nudechelsea handler nudechris evans nudechristina aguilera nudechristina milian nudechristina ricci nudechristine taylor nudechristy hemme nudechyna nudecindy crawford nudecindy margolis nudeclaire danes nudeclaudia black nudeclaudia christian nudecoco nudecote de pablo nudecouples nudecourtney cox nudedaisy fuentes nudedana delany nudedanica patrick nudedaniel radcliff nudedaniel radcliffe nudedanielle fishel nudedara torres nudedaughter nudedavid beckham nudedawson miller nudedebbe dunning nudedebbie clemens nudedebra wilson nudedeelishis nudedenise austin nudedenise milani nudediane kruger nudediane lane nudedigimon nude

  5. 5.   vbnbnhkjm Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    diora baird nudedita von teese nudedolly parton nudedrunk nudedrunk nude momsebony nudeelisha cuthbert nudeelizabeth berkley nudeelizabeth hurley nudeelizabeth perkins nudeelizabeth shue nudeellen barkin nudeemily procter nude001 phone sex numbers1 900 phone sex1 night in paris sex tape100 free cyber sex100 free hardcore sex100 free live sex100 free phone sex100 free sex cams100 free sex games100 free sex movies100 free sex personals100 free sex videos1000 stockings sex101 free sex positions101 free sex stories101 nights of great sex101 sex101 sex positions101 ways to have sex1200 sex14 sex16 18 teen sex chat17 sex18 sex1950 sex pictures1st gay sex stories1st sex1st sex stories1st time sex1st timers having sex2 girls having sex2 horses having sex2 horse having sex21st century sex24 7 ebony sex24 7 mature sex

  6. 6.   bnvbnvn Says:
    October 17th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
  7. 7.   sxNBLliBhOwiG Says:
    October 21st, 2009 at 9:46 am
  8. 8.   Iephtlvq Says:
    October 26th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
  9. 9.   Aoswlbob Says:
    October 26th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
  10. 10.   ojqkjs Says:
    October 26th, 2009 at 7:59 pm

    KgUpqA cqgniwmwckrm, [url=http://xtlavhaplmji.com/]xtlavhaplmji[/url], [link=http://lyggtcpsfoyk.com/]lyggtcpsfoyk[/link], http://ukmvmsvocoob.com/

  11. 11.   htyetyjhgfghj Says:
    October 28th, 2009 at 6:36 am
  12. 12.   spywnarcbackgreenar Says:
    October 29th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
  13. 13.   women alone Says:
    November 3rd, 2009 at 6:36 am

    I don

  14. 14.   lovecams Says:
    November 3rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm

    thanks !! very helpful post, well it got me off ;) hahaha!

  15. 15.   Yagnaroopaya Says:
    November 4th, 2009 at 8:35 am

    Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks. ( my site http://www.AlotPorn.com )

  16. 16.   Tara Lopez Says:
    November 4th, 2009 at 10:04 am

    Todays fresh passes. 4/11-09, Barely Legal Pass! Link/Download (http://sharembit.com/386/bar-legal.zip.html)

  17. 17.   Doreen Carter Says:
    November 4th, 2009 at 10:44 am

    Todays fresh passes. 4/11-09, Barely Legal Pass! Link/Download (http://sharembit.com/386/bar-legal.zip.html)

  18. 18.   Stella Mcfarland Says:
    November 4th, 2009 at 10:57 am

    Todays fresh passes. 4/11-09, Barely Legal Pass! Link/Download (http://sharembit.com/386/bar-legal.zip.html)

  19. 19.   Mardhanaya Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 2:48 am

    You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog. ( my site http://www.AlotPorn.com )

  20. 20.   Kaitabasura Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 4:51 am

    Of course, what a great site and informative posts, I will add backlink – bookmark this site? Regards, Reader. ( my site http://www.AlotPorn.com )

  21. 21.   Samudra Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 5:48 am

    Thank you for your help! ( my site http://hotblacktube.com )

  22. 22.   Pitambharadharaya Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 8:07 am

    Keep working ,great job! ( my site http://hotblacktube.com )

  23. 23.   dajkasdbam Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 8:13 am

  24. 24.   Hamsaaya Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 12:21 pm

    Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also… ( my site http://hotblacktube.com )

  25. 25.   mqejgkbvhw Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 9:56 pm

    8eLmYO vvebkesoxxdb, [url=http://cukawyckebah.com/]cukawyckebah[/url], [link=http://fxmtngrlqknf.com/]fxmtngrlqknf[/link], http://qpiwslihlwew.com/

Leave a Reply