BlogWood: MT Archives

The computer ate my vote ripped me off

So, a system that has been in place for years with very few errors suddenly goes haywire and double bills customers. This is the second time (that we know about) that this has happened to a major retailer in the last few months. Well, at least these customers had a paper receipt to compare to their bank charges. This November, we will be voting on a similar system with absolutely no paper trail, no way to go back and check that the votes were counted correctly.

A computer error double-billed customers who used debit cards or credit cards May 12 at Publix supermarkets, but those customers have been paid back, store officials said Wednesday.

The problem affected purchases at the company's 819 stores in five states. A spokeswoman for the Lakeland- based chain said officials discovered the error the next morning and contacted credit card companies immediately.

They should have gone one more step, said Bill Newton, executive director of Florida Consumer Action Network in Tampa.

``People need to know as soon as possible when something like this happens,'' Newton said. Customers whose debit cards were double-billed were at risk of overdrawing their bank accounts and bouncing checks to other businesses, Newton said.
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On March 31 and April 1, Wal-Mart suffered a similar computer mishap.

Computer Ate My Vote:

TrueMajority’s “Computer Ate My Vote” campaign is about protecting the integrity of America’s elections and avoiding a replay of the embarrassing Florida election fiasco in 2000. We’re working with grassroots activists across the U.S., urging state election officials to prohibit the use of computerized voting machines until we know they are safe and have a way to run reliable recounts. Can you help?

UPDATE - Are parking lots more important than voting? E-voting wasn’t on the agenda, but here’s city council member Rose Ferlita on what she sees as a big problem:

Ferlita has asked the city's legal department to investigate whether the city at least could require parking lot owners to issue receipts.

``You get a receipt when you buy gas through a machine,'' she said. ``Why can't you get a receipt when you park your car? If this happens one time to a tourist, they're going to think the whole city is a sham.''

Uh, Rose, let’s answer this question first: Why can't you get a receipt when you VOTE? If this happens one time to a voter, the whole world is going to know that democracy in America is a sham.