From e97fd3f84661a056910ab1bff81d8bc00b7430bc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: presse Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:12:41 +0000 Subject: committing page revision 1 --- updates/2008/wahlbeobachtungen-hessen.en.md | 99 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 99 insertions(+) create mode 100644 updates/2008/wahlbeobachtungen-hessen.en.md (limited to 'updates') diff --git a/updates/2008/wahlbeobachtungen-hessen.en.md b/updates/2008/wahlbeobachtungen-hessen.en.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..08261fdf --- /dev/null +++ b/updates/2008/wahlbeobachtungen-hessen.en.md @@ -0,0 +1,99 @@ +title: Election-appeals and by-elections expected in Hesse state elections due to severe problems with voting computers +date: 2008-01-27 00:00:00 +updated: 2009-04-18 19:12:41 +author: presse +tags: update, pressemitteilung + +Severe problems and irregularities occurred during Sunday's election for the state government in the German state of Hesse, where NEDAP voting computers were operated. + + + +In addition to massive obstructions of the election observers in several +communities, a number of incidents have clearly disproved the claims of +Hesse's ministry of the interior about the security and reliability of +the voting computers. + +In at least one community the voting computers were stored in the +private homes of political party members over night. This is an +“established practice”, members of the regulating authority confirmed +towards the election observers. All nine voting computers had been +stored privately in this community. + +“The storing of voting computers over night at the homes of local +politicians is the nightmare scenario for insider manipulation, even +according to the logic of the Hesse ministry of the interior. This is +something even we couldn't have imagined”, said Dirk Engling speaking +for Chaos Computer Club (CCC). + +Election observers of the CCC were left alone for a long time in two +polling stations, before the voting executive arrived. Manipulation of +the election could have been easily accomplished by anyone left alone +with the voting computers. + +In at least one polling station the NEDAP technology failed; a voting +computer in Viernheim showed an error message shortly after the startup +a few minutes before 8 o'clock. A normal vote was therefore impossible. +It took over an hour until a replacement computer arrived at the polling +station. During this time many voters were not able to vote and +effectively disenfranchised. + +In Obertshausen interested citizens were refused admittance to the +polling station by an employee of the regulating authority and election +observers were even threatened with arrest. + +“The election supervisor in Obertshausen obviously hasn't heard anything +of things such as openness and the legally warranted publicity of an +election”, CCC speaker Dirk Engling commented. Some election supervisors +actively tried to prevent an observation of the election in its +operation. + +Observations from over 50 interested citizens showed that a large number +of older voters had problems casting their ballot on the computers, +contrary to the claims in the run-up to the election. Many were so +overwhelmed, that election helpers had to assist them with the casting +of their ballot. + +The CCC also visited the people in charge of voting in the hessian +communities which had decided against using voting computers after a +testing phase. CCC activists brought biscuits to the election volunteers +in the polling stations during the counting. In the process they got +interesting insights into the reasons for the rejection of the NEDAP +voting computers. + +In previous elections, the town of Weiterstadt has used voting +computers. “We were among the first who introduced voting computers. But +after the first election we experienced that the effort in preparing the +election was too large”, Mr. Gerald Eberlein, voting supervisor of +Weiterstadt, said. “I just had the feeling it was insecure”, he said +justifying the move away from the disputed computers. + +In Erzhausen the ballots were also casted on paper in the traditional +manner. “We had rented the computers due to the counting and +vote-splitting during our local elections, but the promised saving of +time didn't happen, it just got more expensive. That's why we changed +back to paper”, Dieter Karl, Mayor of Erzhausen, told the CCC. The +advantages promised by the commercial supplier of NEDAP voting computers +simply did not materialise. + +The discussion about the practical issues around voting computers shows +that they not save labor, but also mean more costs and time for the +communities, allow unnoticed manipulation of the result and cause major +problems for senior citizens potentially disenfranchising a segment of +the population. + +Many violations of procedures were noticed by the election observers, +and the reliability problems of the NEDAP systems make it clear once +more, that the basic problems of voting computers: the inability to +verify the correct operation and transparency of the election. Neither +voters nor election helpers were able to validate the correctness of the +ballot-casting and counting. A subsequent recounting is therefore simply +not possible. + +“The observation of the election in Hesse shows that the time has +definitely come to withdraw the voting computers also in Germany”, said +Dirk Engling. “Especially in the light of the tight outcome of the +election in Hesse the unacceptable risks of computer mediated voting +become very clear.” + +The CCC would like to thank all election observers for their commitment +to upholding the democratic process! -- cgit v1.2.3