Election Day: Cross Our Fingers and Hope for the Best

Photo Credit: Spiralz

I just voted in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Ostensibly, everything went smoothly. Poll workers asked for my ID. I signed my name. They escorted me a voting machine and inserted the media card. I made my choices and watched as a paper receipt under glass recorded each page and then scrolled out of sight in preparation for the next voter. As I left, lines were short and supervisors were observing and helping voters where needed.

It's the things I can't see that worry me. Is the process secure? What happens behind the scenes? What opportunity is there for the results to be audited? With the proliferation of electronic voting, and the widely known vulnerabilities of the technology and procedures associated with voting, do the results still represent the will of the people or are we too late? Could a small group of people "hack the vote" for a city, state, or for the nation? I read somewhere that the discrepancy between exit polls and actual results is increasing with each subsequent election. Is this evidence of manipulation of the results?

Here is an overview of some of the concerns, from a blog specializing in PC technology.