Linux-Based E-Voting In Brazil

John Sokol writes "I just heard from a good friend and Linux kernel hacker in Brazil that they have just finished their municipal election with 128 million people using Linux to vote. They voted nationwide for something like 5,000 city mayors. Voting is mandatory in Brazil. The embedded computer they are using once ran VirtuOS (a variant of MS-DOS); it now has its own locally developed, Linux-based distro. These are much nicer, smaller, and cheaper than the systems being deployed here in the US. Here is a Java-required site with a simulated Brazilian voting system. It's very cool; they even show you a picture of the candidate you voted for."

Science Fiction!

[tomtomtom777]

It's very cool; they even show you a picture of the candidate you voted for.

Wow! Incredible! I never thought something like that would be possible with a computer!

Re:Science Fiction!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, and I mean typewriters worked for ages without having to use Office software, we could go to the moon with a computer that was slower than a modern calculator, and speaking of voting didn't it work just as well without black people and women interfering?

I tell ya, things used to be just perfect the way they were, progress just ruins society.

Re:Science Fiction!

[Ocker3]

the Type of pen and paper ballot you use is more important than the fact that you physically put pen to paper, imho. Can the winged ballot (resulting in the chad problem) really be called pen and paper? You're not writing anything. Blowing our national horn here, but Australia invented the Secret Ballot system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_ballot) back in the 1800s, and everyone else quickly followed suite. We also have a system of very fiercely independent vote counters, a critical cornerstone of the system, perhaps the USA needs to work on that part? *coughkatherineharriscough*

Re:Science Fiction!

[Lumpy]

Problem is it's too complicated for american voters. Punching a hole in next to a name was too complicated. typing in a 2-4 digit code? are you MAD??

Expecting Americans to have that level of ability is ridiculous. It's why Diebold is designing systems that are far easier to use. you go and vote, and it registers the vote they think you should have voted.

It's far more accurate and eliminates problems.

Re:Science Fiction!

[Anonymous Coward]

Brazilian cities were able to know the election results in the same day of voting, before midnight. That's pretty damn efficient.

That's nothing, here on Argentina, we're able to know the election results months before voting. God bless democracy!

Re:Science Fiction!

[Colin Smith]

an alliance of media groups, former politicians, judges and armed drug dealers and militia.

Sure sounds like government to me.