There appears to be a widespread misperception on the part of both election officials and the public that the challenges presented by computer voting are analogous to the challenges presented by voting with punch cards, paper ballots and optical scanners. Having made my living testing software for the past 20 years, I assure you that this is not the case.
The first, and most striking, difference is that it is impossible to recount ballots cast via a computer, and while paper receipts could conceivably be lost or vulnerable to tampering, there would at the very least be a record of discrepancies which would trigger further investigation of the election results. The reports generated by the current touch-screen machines do not provide an adequate fail-safe because they are generated from the same machines that may have caused the problem in the first place.
There have been numerous other problems reported nationwide with these machines - voting on uncertified software, inadequate testing, security flaws and improper handling of software "patches." These are not uncommon problems in the software industry, as almost any computer professional can tell you. However, most large corporations have contingency plans for dealing with everything from software failure to security breeches. Unfortunately most election officials have neither the professional nor the educational background for understanding the issues raised by electronic voting, let alone for developing a plan to respond to them.
If we are to move into this brave new world of computerized voting, so be it. But we should not do so until we have replaced the current crop of election supervisors with people who - to put it politely - have a clue. For officials without such a background to blithely pronounce paper receipts unnecessary is irresponsible and misleading.
-- Carol Schiffler, St. Petersburg
Paper ballots open to tampering
Re: Computer voting reignites fears.
Prior to moving to Pinellas County I lived and voted in two other states. Beginning many years ago, I voted on mechanical voting machines, but in the mid-1990s we were switched to computer touch-screen voting machines. No paper record was kept in either case. When the machines were set up for an election, two trained judges at each polling place, one from each major party, would test the machines, set them on zero and seal them. When the polls closed the same two judges would open their machine, record the votes, and reseal the machine for a possible recount. No paper trail. This balanced system has worked for generations in other states, and there is no reason it cannot work here.
Having a paper trail allows less than honest people to tamper with voting results, which is otherwise impossible. Prior to voting machines, paper ballots would disappear, grow in numbers that put rabbits to shame, or mysteriously become mutilated. Let's keep voting tamper-free and honest.
-- Arnold C. Jones, Dunedin
The counters are the ones who count
Josef Stalin said, "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."
Any computer can be manipulated. I worry for my country. Please let's return to pen-marked paper ballots.
-- Herb Shapiro, Brooksville
St. Petersburg shouldn't dismiss Tasers
Re: Law officers embracing Tasers, March 21.
It is welcome news that many police departments in Florida and the nation are taking advantage of the nonlethal Tasers as a viable option to lethal force.
As with other innovations, the Tampa Police Department and the Sheriff's Offices of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties are miles ahead of St. Petersburg. These departments also show leadership with their participation in crisis intervention training. Unfortunately, St. Petersburg's leadership does not feel its department needs Tasers or this valuable additional training.
More than 500 officers in Pinellas County have received this training, offered at no charge by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Crisis intervention teaches officers to de-escalate situations involving the mentally ill. The St. Petersburg Police Department sends only token representation to this training.
Several citizens have been killed, perhaps unnecessarily, in confrontations with St. Petersburg police officers in recent years. Improved training and non-lethal methods exist to limit the use of deadly force on citizens who, in many cases, are ill and in need of medical help, not deadly force.
Leadership in the St. Petersburg Police Department seems to be paving the way to major lawsuits, which could be the only way to wake them up.
-- John Jones, president, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Pinellas County, Kenneth City
More options are better
Re: Law officers embracing Tasers.
It is with disbelief that I read St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon referring to his officers "fumbling for another tool" and not wanting to have more options.
I am thankful that other local departments feel confident in their officers to equip them with more options. The more options an officer has, the better. The safety of both law enforcement and citizens alike, should be paramount. Law enforcement and citizenry benefit when there are more options than just a baton and a gun.
With a young child, you offer few options to make their decisionmaking easier. Police officers are trained professionals. More options will not confuse them. Is it any wonder that our city's Police Department has a morale problem?
-- Amalia Weber, St. Petersburg
Outsourcing has no upside
Re: The upside of outsourcing, March 25.
The fact is, there isn't any "upside of outsourcing." The article about CSD Worldwide, a middleman company for outsourcers, didn't present anything new. The overwhelming majority of the American people are workers not business owners. They are America. To abandon them, as outsourcers do, is to abandon America.
No, outsourcing is not good for the American economy, as Jim Wetzel claims. The idea that it "creates jobs stateside" is absurd. For any job created this insidious way, 1,000 are being lost.
Most people in America will suffer as the economy becomes a shambles due to the loss of disposeable income. Who's going to buy goods and services when everyone is either unemployed or making Third World wages?
-- Bob Emanuel, St. Petersburg
The sound of outsourcing
For the second time this month, I have called an 800 number to request services from an American company and found, to my surprise, that I was speaking to India. There was no mistaking that melodic accent, even though the individuals were trying hard to sound "American."
With a daughter and son-in-law forced to leave a severely depressed economy in Michigan, and a grandson with an advanced college degree who is working as a waiter, I find it unconscionable that American jobs are being shipped overseas at an alarming rate.
Next time you need tech support for your computer or wish to place a catalog order, listen carefully. That voice you hear will no doubt be Indian!
-- Marilyn Barker, Largo
Let's hear more about the economy
"It's the economy, stupid, not the continuing war on terrorism!"
Every time President Bush expounds on his war philosophy of protecting America, he somehow neglects to bring up the real issue in his talks to voters - the economy. Why doesn't he feature plans to improve the labor market of 2.5-million unemployed, and a supposedly rebounding stock market that fluctuates up and down? And what will he do with our tremendous budget deficit of more than $560-billion... and rising?
Yes, Mr. President, it's the economy. and American voters are entitled to hear more about future recovery plans rather than war talk - for them and their offspring.
-- Joe Stevens, Spring Hill
Keep medical records here and secure
Outsourcing of medical transcription overseas presents a far greater problem than the loss of jobs in the United States. It entails sending our private medical records, accompanied by identification such as our Social Security numbers, to countries such as India, Pakistan and the Philippines. This practice is a means by which hospitals, clinics and physicians cut costs because the work is done overseas for a fraction of the wages of their American counterparts.
Our medical record is now being treated as a dry-goods commodity to be sent out of the country for construction and brought back in with private transcription companies making huge profits. Also of importance is that our HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws have no jurisdiction outside the United States. Other countries may try to institute HIPAA-like laws, but the key word here is "like."
The October 2003 incident whereby a Pakistani transcriptionist sent an e-mail to the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center stating she would post two reports on the Internet (which she had attached to her e-mail) because she had not been paid for her services by a subcontractor is a perfect example of why we need to take action to safeguard our medical records. California state Sen. Liz Figueroa is introducing legislation in response to this.
Take note that the hospitals, clinics and physicians who outsource medical transcription do not advertise this. They should be required to disclose this information so that consumers of health care can decide if they wish to patronize their facilities. Could it be that they withhold this information out of concern that this will not be well-accepted by health care consumers?
If you want to protect your medical record, it is your obligation to notify your senator and/or congressional representative as well as President Bush to let them know of your desire to keep your medical record secure, within the United States and under the jurisdiction of U.S. HIPAA laws.
-- Monica Sikalos, Port Richey
Comics lean too far to the left
The Boondocks comic strip, with its blatantly left-wing political commentary, has no place in the comics section. The same applies to Doonesbury and Bizarro on many occasions.
Since the current Boondocks series ridiculing President Bush is so in tune with the Times editorial board viewpoint, I suggest that the Opinion pages would be a much more appropriate location.
I'm not sure of the perverse criteria used to select the comics you publish, but the recent changes have generally not been for the better.
-- Bob Bryan, Seminole
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