I agree with "cmonson" on both posts. Not only do our elected officials feel they no longer have to abide by the promises they made during the election process, but when in office they pass legislation that protects the government (them) from being prosecuted for the things they do against the people's interest (us). None of these laws are made public before they are passed. Some examples of the injustice are: the laws that protect the government (them) from being sued by the people (us) when they do not follow their own rules and regulations, thus causing harm to the people they serve; the laws that protect the government (them) from being sued for medical malpractice in military hospitals. Like "cmonson" said on their post, "God help us."
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Which is more common: human error or technological error?
More often than not we hear about human errors. The most important moving part in an election is the voter him- or herself. Given the number of voters involved, we'll have problems with voting every now and then. But also jurisdictions are now struggling to assimilate this new technology into the election process, so I don't want to put the problem entirely on human error. And there's no one technology that's better than any others. Each technology has own strengths and weaknesses. For all the criticism of electronic voting, it does avoid some of the problems associated with paper. You don't have hanging chads or questions of voter intent with an electronic ballot, or people spoiling their ballots with stray marks or choosing too many candidates. You can also be more flexible for voters with disabilities or alternate language needs. But with paper ballots you get a permanent record that might not be available with a touchscreen. In many states we're in a discussion about how it isn't so much about choosing the best theoretical voting system but about choosing the best fit for a jurisdiction's demand and price point. Right now the move toward paper mirrors the move toward electronic voting we saw four or five years ago. We don't know yet if it's the right technology or just the technology we're using right now.
What's the biggest challenge for you in analyzing elections?
Just keeping track of it all. There are so many systems out there. The two things that every jurisdiction in America has in common is that they like the way they do their elections and they can't believe anybody else would do it any differently.
What can voters look out for as they participate in the election process?
Something we're seeing more and more in the field is a focus on the individual voter. Voters can expect better efforts to give them information about where to vote and what's on the ballot. You're going to see jurisdictions looking into Election Day voting centers, where anybody can go anywhere in their jurisdiction to vote, as opposed to the traditional polling place. You'll also see them investigating increased absentee voting or voting by mail. The traditional model of going to the polling place, standing in line, and casting your vote may not be the way we cast our votes in the foreseeable future.
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