> -----Original Message----- > From: Claudius Li [mailto:aprentic@xxxxxxxxxx] > So my question is, given that this seems to be a solved > problem why is there so much debate on finding the solution? > Surely I am missing something obvious. You're missing the social dynamics around it. There are several parties involved: - State officials who actually pick the voting equipment. They generally are politicians, with a background in law or business. They don't understand the complicated technical issues behind electronic voting. - Companies who build the voting equipment. Their motive is profit. They want to get a marketable product out quickly and cheaply. They perceive (correctly) that the audience they're selling to does not understand or care about complicated security issues, and can be easily impressed by trivial but sophisticated-looking features. - The public. They don't understand these issues either, and they have a short attention span. - The news media. They don't push security issues because they lack good visuals and don't fit into a 15-second news spot. Anything longer and they'll lose their audience (see above.) - Computer scientists and voting activists. They *do* understand the issues, but are unable to explain them in a way the news media, the public, and state officials find compelling and understandable. The companies who build the equipment can easily label them as alarmists or conspiracy theorists.
