Wake up call: Verifiable, transparent voting systems must be the law

>Alvin Greene’s mysterious candidacy and win in the Democratic primary in South Carolina, and his apparent mental problems are becoming the main story, when in fact, the real story here is the obvious vote tampering.

The fact DeMint would slaughter the Democratic nominee no matter who it was, seems to be obscuring the irregularities in the Premier Election Solutions electronic voting system (a Diebold-owned company, which in turn is owned by avowed Republicans) — people seem to be thinking it just doesn’t matter. But the loser, Vic Rawl, who has challenged the results, is correct in stating this is about the system.

We’re lucky, in a way, that the tampering is so obvious. It should be a huge red flag. There is plenty of evidence to warrant a thorough investigation. And that investigation should result in a conviction of officials at Diebold, and the barring of the company from any further participation in vote-counting.

Further, the fallout from this scandal needs to spark changes in the law. Citizens must demand an open, fully transparent system, with a verifiable paper trail and regular, random audits.

Diebold and other companies have a sordid history when it comes to counting votes. There have been other equally suspicious results in the past. So far, we as a society have let them slide. We do so at the peril of our own democracy.

James Israel
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