Luther Weeks

Online voting vendor, Scytl’s system worries experts in Canada

By Luther Weeks on March 29, 2012

Vendor touted in CT and on NPR by West Virginia Secretary of the State comes under fire after Canadian election disrupted by hackers.

Posted in CT, Internet Voting, National | Leave a response

This problem (and solution) would never happen in Connecticut

By Luther Weeks on March 26, 2012

We use manual addition and transcription to add results. Our audits would not catch errors made outside of polling place scanners.

Posted in CT, Post-Election Audits, Skulduggery and Errors | Leave a response

A Tale Of Two Laws

By Luther Weeks on March 22, 2012

This year we noticed quite a difference between hearings for bills that Legislators really understand and others covering subjects with which they are not intimately familiar. We see a similar bent in the Connecticut Constitution.

Posted in CT, CT Law, Legislature2012 | Leave a response

Present, Past, and Future of Absentee Fraud in Connecticut

By Luther Weeks on March 20, 2012

Absentee fraud may have changed the apparent winner in New Haven. The solution is not more absentee or mail-in voting.

Posted in CT, CT Skulduggery and Errors, Legislature2012, Mail/Absentee Voting | Leave a response

Why we need paper ballots

By Luther Weeks on March 17, 2012

Tuesday night, poll workers resorted to the old fashioned way of counting by hand.

Posted in Electronic Vulnerability, National | Leave a response

Enthusiastic support for the Secretary’s Performance Task Force Recommendations

By Luther Weeks on March 12, 2012

Given the many members, the brief meetings, and the lack of representation of all interests, we were skeptical when the Task Force was convened. To our delight, we find that we can offer endorsement of each of the twenty-one recommendations in the report.

There is a lot to do in all the recommendations. It will take time, money, and deliberate work with everyone at the table. Our hope is that each of the recommendations will be thoroughly explored, evaluated, and acted upon, that none get overlooked.

Posted in Chain of Custody, Costs, CT, CT Law, Mail/Absentee Voting, Post-Election Audits, Recounts/Recanvasses, Reports | Leave a response

Common Sense: Tension between Convenience, Confidence, and Cost

By Luther Weeks on March 7, 2012

Many of the issues we discuss here and debate in the Legislature revolve around tradeoffs between Convenience, Confidence, and Costs. At a basic level we find three fundamental values/goals behind every initiative and debate: These tradeoffs and competing goals are the context within which we all constantly evaluate new laws and proposals.

Posted in Common Sense, National | Leave a response

Busy Day: Testimony, Inaccuracy, and more

By Luther Weeks on March 2, 2012

It was a busy day in Hartford today. I testified on two bills along with many others also testifying on those and other bills before the Government Elections and Administrations Committee. There is an AP article which may leave misunderstanding of my testimony and positions. Finally, the Secretary of the State released the final report of the Elections Performance Task Force. UPDATED

Posted in CT, Legislature2012, Mail/Absentee Voting | Leave a response

Absentee Ballot Hijinks in Hartford?

By Luther Weeks on March 1, 2012

Evelyn Cruz filed a complaint accusing another resident, Clorinda Soldevila, of hand-delivering three absentee ballots to her home on Bond Street, and then picking up those ballots and delivering them to city hall.

Posted in CT, CT Skulduggery and Errors | Leave a response

Scanners 0, Hand count 0, Officials 0, Press/Citizens 2

By Luther Weeks on February 28, 2012

Connecticut has little reason to take comfort in New York’s latest election embarrassment. We do not expect an official system to recognize unofficial counts, yet we do expect a system that recognizes problems, and reacts by taking reasonable steps to correct errors.