ALERT: New
Voting Technology Could Make Rigged Elections A Reality
Amid
suspicions of Russian hacking attempts, combined with proof of Democrat Party
manipulation, fears on both sides of the aisle that the 2016 election could be
rigged
for a predetermined outcome have started to be expressed. These
fears stemmed largely from the use of electronic voting machines — machines that
leave no paper record of the votes cast — in a handful of important states.
According
to Politico, these ATM-style
touchscreen machines were in use in four highly competitive states, and a close
outcome either way come Election Day could quite possibly prompt an outcry of
potential cheating from the losing side.
Those
four states were Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Virginia, any of which
could be a decisive state that swings the election one way or the other.
There has
long been worries of the potential for electronic voting machines to be hacked
and rigged for a predetermined outcome, which is why so many states have
shifted away from electronic voting machines, or at least figured out a method
for keeping a paper record as a backup to verify final results.
Unfortunately,
those four states still face the possibility that the election outcome could be
rigged by unknown entities. Democrats
have cited recent
hacking efforts
by Russian intelligence agencies to cast suspicions on the upcoming election.
Republicans
have pointed toward the Democrat Party’s rigging
of the primary
in favor of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to suggest it may try
something similar in the general election.
In a
close election decided by a slim margin, such as the 2000 vote in
Florida that was won by less than 1,000 votes, there will most
certainly be accusations of the outcome being rigged once the election is over.
Though
perhaps not widespread, there
is evidence
that electronic voting machines can be hacked, and most states have moved away
from the machines or added precautionary safeguards to ensure proper records of
votes cast are kept.
No comments:
Post a Comment