The Sequoia touch-screen voting machines that will be used by voters this November has had Pac-Man hacked onto the system without breaking the tamper-evident seals.
This particular Sequoia DRE (Direct Recording Electronic) voting machine model is known as the AVC Edge. It used to be described on the Sequoia website and promotional materials as “tamperproof.” It has been hacked previously and has failed time and again in recent elections, even though election officials continue to force voters to use the machines.
For example, the AVC Edge miscounted votes in New Jersey in 2008, the same election during which the systems also failed to even boot up when polls opened at a Hoboken precinct, forcing voters, including the state’s then-Governor John Corzine, to wait some 45 minutes before they could cast votes on them at all. Whether those votes were recorded accurately as per the voters’ intent, once the machines finally booted up, is scientifically impossible to know. Use of any touch-screen voting machine is the equivalent of a 100% faith-based election. No votes cast during an election — none — can be verified as having been accurately recorded on such systems. Ever.
“The software can be replaced without breaking any of these seals, simply by removing screws and opening the case.”
At some point, you would think that politicians would realize that these types of machines are far easier to tamper with than plain, old-fashioned paper.
Learn more about these machines at The Brad Blog.
