Trust, But No Way to Verify? By Glenn Harlan Reynolds

By Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Well, this report from The New York Times doesn't make me feel better about electronic voting:
"The federal government is investigating the takeover last year of a leading American manufacturer of electronic voting systems by a small software company that has been linked to the leftist Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chávez. The inquiry is focusing on the Venezuelan owners of the software company, the Smartmatic Corporation, and is trying to determine whether the government in Caracas has any control or influence over the firm's operations, government officials and others familiar with the investigation said."
Is this a false alarm, or does it represent a real threat of foreign meddling in American elections? I suspect it's the former, but I can't be sure -- and, of course, that's the problem with electronic voting. Because you can't tell what's going on inside of the box, voters can't be sure that their votes are recorded, or counted, accurately. And if they can't be sure of that, their faith in the whole electoral system is in danger -- and with it, their faith in our system of government.