WHY IS IT WATCHING YOU?
The United States controls 30 percent of the world’s wealth, the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet, a military capable of burning holes through entire countries with little more than a harsh word, and an entertainment industry influential enough that Oprah, Spider-Man, and Mickey Mouse are all more popular than sex in much of the world. The importance of being elected to a national office in this country cannot be overstated. From the proper perch, you’ve got the chance to chart the course of the world.
For all of human history, people have resorted to dirty tricks again and again in pursuit of that chance. People rape, steal, murder, and lie to carve their name in the history books. The heroes of history cut a bloody swath across the world, and all for the sake of being remembered. Conquest is in our blood. In light of the monstrous acts committed in the name of power, stealing an election seems pretty tame.
Your vote is kept secret to minimize the chances that individuals from a rival political party could target you for intimidation or reprisal. Attempts are often made to prevent certain populations—African Americans, Hispanics, and the poor,
especially—from voting, and laws have been enacted to prevent those attempts. The secrecy of the vote is vital to preventing the disenfranchisement of voters.Electronic voting systems, however, are also designed to prevent individual voters from verifying their own votes. Central tabulation systems cannot associate individual votes with the paper ballots collected at polling stations. Touchscreen systems usually don’t provide a printed verification. Once your vote is entered, it becomes secret even from you. There is no way for you to be certain it is counted accurately or at all. The only purpose that can be served by this kind of secrecy is either the obfuscation of critical flaws in a system or the concealment of a plot to manipulate the outcome of an election.