Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Phonecams and the Secret Ballot

Posted on November 3, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Here's Ed Felton with a more elegant discussion of the verifiable voting problem I mentioned yesterday: see his Phonecams and the Secret Ballot.

Posted in Politics: US | 1 Comment

Avi Rubin, Cryptographer, On His Day as an Election Judge

Posted on November 3, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Avi Rubin blogs My day as an election judge – take 2. Everything looks like it works, but the system has vulnerabilities…and the worst ones are not ones you could detect….

Posted in Politics: US: 2004 Election | Comments Off on Avi Rubin, Cryptographer, On His Day as an Election Judge

Kerry, Castor Concede

Posted on November 3, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

I think we are in for a rough time.

Will people abroad want to hold dollars if the people running the country have a track record of deficits and talking down the dollar?

Will the weakened Senate Democrats have the guts to filibuster extreme Supreme Court nominees?

Will a more right-wing court stand up to this administration's propensity for torture and arbitrary detention?

What will happen to global warming and environmental quality generally?

I would be delighted to be wrong, but I think that all but one of these questions are going to have really lousy answers, as will many others.

Posted in Politics: US: 2004 Election | 10 Comments

Quick Query

Posted on November 2, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Why can't I get to www.talkingpointsmemo.com or www.talkleft.com? They have been timing out for more than an hour…. DOS attack? Shared server?

(Hey, I can wifi on the plane!)

Posted in Blogs | 12 Comments

Boing Boing MoBlogs the Vote

Posted on November 2, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

The plane is about to leave, so just a rushed note to see Boing Boing: Vote Save Error .

This incident is a problem on its own….but alas it also shows why we can't allow camera phones in polling places — it would allow people to prove how they voted, which makes vote selling and blackmail feasible. Which isn't the point the post meant to make.

Posted in Politics: US | 2 Comments

Miami-Dade Allows International Poll Watchers

Posted on November 2, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Foreign poll watchers can observe … the last few hours of voting, long after the machines were set up… Previsously the official position had been that the foreign poll watchers were not welcome.

The Herald reports on its blog,

International observers won a victory in Miami-Dade on election day. After meeting with Supervisor of Elections Constance Kaplan at 1 p.m. Tuesday, she officially gave then the go ahead to observe inside pollings places, but with a department escort.

The observers had been barred after Miami-Dade commissioners voted against giving them access.

“We think it's a real victory and shows an openess by the county to display some openness in the process,” said John De Leon, former local president of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Among those who will visit up to 20 precincts before the end of the day are representatives from Pax Christi USA, a national Catholic peace and justice movement group and California-based Global Exchange, an international human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political and social justice. The groups are affiliated with Miami Workers Center, which will make the groups findings public after the polls close.

Representatives from countries including Great Britain, South Africa, Nicaragua, Mexico and Haiti will be visiting the polls.

Posted in Miami | Comments Off on Miami-Dade Allows International Poll Watchers