If you've been following the electronic voting machine problems in the US, then William Rivers Pitt's interview with Barbara Simmons, David Dill and Rebecca Mecuri is as terrific insight into the issues.

" DD: You know, being an engineer involves making choices about the appropriate use
of technology. It is not using the highest tech solution to every problem, whether it's
appropriate or not. It's focused on solving the problem by the best means that are
available. The best engineers will use the best means that are available even if they
don't involve any significant technology at all. I think it's the responsibility of everybody
in technology to weigh in with their opinions about the appropriate use of technology
and the inappropriate use of technology. And I think it's particularly important for
academics and educators to do that. I think part of our job in universities is to try to
advise the rest of society, and the policy makers, of what the right things to do are.
And to share our expertise and that's really what we're trying to do.

My greatest worry is really an erosion of confidence in the elections. When people
can no longer trust the elections I think that that will undermine the legitimacy of
everybody in government and I wouldn't like to see that happen.

BS: The confidence is very important. I also fear that if there is the capability of
undermining elections sooner or later. Somebody will exploit this technology to steal an
election. And to me, our democracy and our right to vote and our right to choose the
people who run this country is fundamental and if I feel we've lost that then what makes
this country special is gone.

RM: My feeling is that it is a bamboozling of the American public. We're trading away
a lot of the checks and balances that we have always had in elections. We're trading
this off for high-tech, for faster returns, and it's not true, what we're being told is not
the full truth about what is actually going on and I think that we're giving away much
more than we're getting. We're giving the opportunity to have an entire election stolen,
just because of bad code, not even stolen, just screwed up, fouled up.

DD: We're driving too fast along the side of a mountain road with no guardrail. And
maybe you won't go over the side or maybe you will. Do you want to risk it? If you do it
long enough you'll eventually go off the mountain. "