The procedures and equipment used in U.S. elections are determined largely by the individual states, and in some cases, individual counties within those states.
They get some federal funding, but there's very little federal oversight. Every election I've voted in (all in CA) used paper ballots. However, I've voted in 2 different counties, and they each used different ballots.
With that said, one would assume that if there was some conspiracy to use electronic voting machines to rig an election, it would be a little more subtle than changing the box that appears on the screen. Like most government blunders, incompetence is a more likely explanation than malice.
Also, figuring out exactly what goes on with these machines is sometimes difficult, since the source code for the software is often protected by trade secrets law.
I generally agree with the principles behind the law of trade secrets, but I'm not exactly sure how it should apply in these situations.
Also, figuring out exactly what goes on with these machines is sometimes difficult, since the source code for the software is often protected by trade secrets law.
Also, Do you guys always have your elections on a weekday? We always have them on Saturdays here.
always on the first tuesday following the first monday in november. that is, if it's an election for a federal office. the fact that it's on a weekday stems from days of yore when the voting process took up to half of a week (for traveling); therefore, the u.s. congress put it on a tuesday. all states have absentee ballot-voting and most allow early voting