Election machines could disappear.

Back to pen and paper? On next Tuesday, the Federal Constitutional Court decides on the legality of the election machinery. Critics of electronic voting have strong arguments - and the judges seem to be the critical machines to see.

 

Karlsruhe - The use of voting computers in Germany threatens to Off. On Tuesday, the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe with awaited verdict on the election of two citizens examining complaints against the announce Bundestagswahl 2005. It identifies several shortcomings in the computers criticizes, in the opinion of the plaintiff the secret voting and democratic control of the counting hurt.

DDP
Wahlcomputer: Massive doubts about the safety

The input even aims to establish the result of recent federal elections, therefore, partly for voiding it.

Around two million citizens who cast their votes of 2005 election computers have, therefore, should choose again - this time with paper and pencil. That the Second Senate Court Vice-President Andreas Voßkuhle this suggestion a few months before the next national election on 27 September, there is, however, as virtually impossible.

Is quite possible, however, that the Constitution for judges of the use of computers in future elections strict or prohibit it altogether. Finally, distinguished themselves during the hearing in Karlsruhe on 28 October massive doubts about the safety and reliability of the election computer.

In other countries, has withdrawn from circulation

Thus, the as rapporteur in the proceedings competent judges Rudolf Mellinghoff that it abroad numerous breakdowns of electronic voting machines there.

Therefore, for example in the Netherlands and Ireland were withdrawn from circulation. And in the U.S. have the choice of computer manufacturer admitted that due to a decade-existing software error in 34 states have been voting.

And represented the plaintiffs, Ulrich Karp, sees attempts by the Chaos Computer Club demonstrated that the devices in Germany were manipulated. Even hackers can penetrate the secrecy and nullify the election. Also, the court belonged to experts of IT institutes in Passau and Karlsruhe in the negotiations confirmed the possibility of tampering. For the defendant appeared SPD Bundestag deputy Carl-Christian Dressel did the opposite, in the 44 years the use of election machinery was no such case had been demonstrated.

The complainant further complained about when voting on a computer was no control possible, in elections for the elementary democracy. In the traditional ballot each voter had to throw in the ballot the issue of trading in the hand, and could in the evening to open the sealed ballot box, the counting of the ballots and the interaction results in the computation of the polling station and have full control.

Judges made the choice to sample practice test

When choosing your computer on the other hand, there is no transparency. In the time of the vote by pressing a key to spit out the evening in an electronic memory storage results disappear all in a sort of "black boxes".

ON TO ONLINE blogs

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U.S. Wahlcomputer: Experts warn of new counting breakdown (04.11.2008)

Verfassungsbeschwerde against Wahlcomputer: "Even cell phones are better protected against manipulation" (28.10.2008)

Forum: Election machines - progress or risk?

Furore had even one - but man-made - with a breakdown of the election computers in Hesse state in January 2008. There were machines in the election the night before the vote in private rooms of party members have been stored. The Chaos Computer Club, the incident brought to light, so that manipulation saw the door open.

Even national election director Wolfgang Hannappel said it was an improper action and other irregularities. He saw no reason for a repeat election because there is no evidence of manipulation and give the election results of the voting district in absolutely the trend of the whole country was.

The eight parties in the ruling Karlsruhe judges have, in any event well prepared for the decision. This is not only the comparatively long consultation period of at least four months. The two judges and six Judges of the Second Senate made even the practical test with a sample of the special election for the procedure in the city of Baden chartered choice of such a model computer.