more on elections

More on the mechanics of the upcoming US midterm elections. Time writes about the problems with electronic voting machines even absent any intent to manipulate them to one candidate or party's advantage.

And Robert Kuttner writes about the GOP's "stop the vote" campaign in places like Ohio, Florida, and Georgia. The gist -- if you ain't rich or ain't a white evangelical, the GOP would rather you not vote, and they are willing to use force, deception, intimidation, and fraud to stop those who they believe are probably Democratic voters from casting their ballots. Another inspiring example of the Republicans' commitment to true democracy and universal suffrage. Democracy for the wealthy, that is, and universal suffrage for their supporters and dupes...

Meanwhile, American military personnel are being given the chance to vote by email in a Pentagon-funded program. I'm sure the Pentagon is only thinking of the civic rights and duties of its soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. The fact that the members of the US military tend to vote Republican is just a coincidence.

Seriously, it is a good thing to help them vote. But I wonder about the wisdom of letting them vote by EMAIL. Not the most secure of methods. As an expert who helped prepare a report for the Pentagon notes, "E-mail traffic can flow through equipment owned and operated by various governments, companies and individuals in many countries. It is easily monitored, blocked and subject to tampering."

That's bad.