Web 2.0 is alright for somethings....Voting is not one of them

Its soapbox time again. So you use the internet to go shopping, update your facebook status (I still hate that), go into a "second life" and be something or someone you always wanted to be, or just to check the latest UM basketball score and find out if the Men’s team has sunk to a all time new low and posted a lost to the Mount Royal Elementary recreation league basketball team (the way they are going right now the lady Terps should get all the basketball funding....and they deserve it GO LADY TERPS). But what about that faithful day once every four years when you stand in what could be an endless line of folks going to vote for their inspirational leader (or the lady who can see Russia from her back yard... http://www.dailystab.com/sarah-palin-rap-video-on-snl/). Wouldn't you rather be home or at work, login into a secure website and place your vote. No fuss no muss, right????

Well as much as we would like to believe that voting in our underwear will become a reality in the not to distant future the "A group of computer scientists and technology professionals has issued a statement warning that Internet voting is an idea whose time has not come. Organized by David Dill, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and founder of VerifiedVoting.org" pretty much is saying that the internet is nowhere near secure enough to be completely trusted with your precious right to vote. The article that I found on verifiedvotingfoundation.org (http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6612) goes on to elaborate that even though a pilot study of online voting occurred in the 2008 primaries and the general elections this past November, the experts state that "computer scientists has concluded that safe internet voting is a very hard technical problem, but politicians assume it’s easy,” said Dill. "In this statement, we’re saying ‘This is going to be a disaster unless we think it through first.”

"Malicious software could change, fabricate, or delete votes cast over the Internet, as well as deceive or disenfranchise voters, the technologists warn."

Well if this is so true then why do I trust the unsafe internet to pay bills, disclose personal information to private vendors, and etc? Dill goes on to state that “Voting is a different problem from online commerce” said Dill. “If I use a credit card over the internet, my name is on the order and I’ll get a statement at the end of the month with a list of charges. But a secret ballot over the internet can’t have the voter’s name on it, by definition. Verifying that votes are cast and counted as intended over the internet, without compromising ballot secrecy, is an extremely tricky technical problem that e-commerce doesn’t face.”

So I guess I shouldn't be so concerned about my credit profile after all.....Yeah right.

It’s Friday I gotta take my soap box to happy hour!!!!!