An article in the Rolling Stone asks about voting machines, and whether they can be systematically tampered with. Their conclusion is that if the machines are centrally administered by a private firm (as is the case in Georgia, Florida, and Ohio), and if standards for the machines are lax (apparently, nobody knows how to certify software for this sort of thing), then it’s certainly possible to rig an election.
I’ve been saying for a while now that if we see “Surprising Republican Gains!” in november, I will start to take the conspiracy theorists seriously. I think I’m going to get a head start on that. Given the perfectly legal, but ethically dubious, tactics that the parties will use to retain power (jerrymandering, with attack ads from “unaffiliated” PACs as a close second) I have no doubt that if it’s possible to cheat, someone will try. Political parties have no interest other than the maintenance of their own power, and they are just as fundamentally unethical as corporations. We must act to keep them in check, or they will do whatever they can to expand their power.
I also have no doubt that the Republicans will be much better at rigging votes than the Democrats.
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