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Prof. Doug Jones
Computer Science Department, The University of Iowa Thursday, May 14th, 214 MLH, 2:00 pm - 2:50pm |
ABSTRACT:
If we insist on having a democracy, we must find some way of counting votes, but every vote counting method that has been proposed is vulnerable to manipulation by dishonest participants. All of the new vote counting methods introduced since 1960 involve the use of computers, and the risks posed by these new technologies are quite serious. In this talk, I will present a brief history of voting technology before I discuss the current regulatory environment. With this background, I outline some of the problems posed by computerized voting systems and the relations between these problems and larger issues in computer science and software engineering. In the process, I will summarize some of the material presented to the United States Civil Rights Commission hearings last January on the irregularities in the recent Florida election, and some of the material presented to the House Science Committee last month on possibility of improved regulations for voting technology.
Prof. Doug Jones is
a professor in our Computer Science Department
(web site: http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/)