Barbara Simons, an accomplished computer scientist and e-voting expert, was recently appointed to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Board of Advisors. (The EAC is the U.S. Federal body responsible for voting technology standards, among other things.) This is good news.
The board has thirty-seven members, of which four positions are allocated for "members representing professionals in the field of science and technology". These four positions are to be appointed by Majority and Minority leaders in the House and the Senate. (See page 2 of the Board's charter.) Given the importance of voting technology issues to the EAC, it does seem like a good idea to reserve 10% of the advisory board positions for technologists. If anything, the number of technologist seats should be larger.
Barbara was appointed to the board position by the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid. Kudos to Senator Reid for appointing a genuine voting technology expert.
What about the other three seats for "professionals in the field of science and technology?" Sadly, the board's membership list shows that these seats are not actually held by technical people. Barbara Arnwine holds the House Speaker's seat, Tom Fuentes holds the House Minority Leader's seat, and Wesley R. Kliner, Jr. holds the Senate Minority Leader's seat. All three appear to be accomplished people who have something to offer on the board. But as far as I can tell they are not "professionals in the field of science and technology", so their appropriate positions on the board would be somewhere in the other thirty-three seats.
What can be done? I wouldn't go so far as to kick any current members off the board, even if that were possible. But when vacancies do become available, they should be filled by scientists or technologists, as dictated by the charter's requirement of having four such people on the board.
The EAC is struggling with voting technology issues. They could surely use the advice of three more expert technologists.
Front page posts
They'll need a chromatographer to figure out what colour voting machines should be, an otorhinolaryngologist to figure out if people want to vote nasally, and definitely a touch screen sanitisation engineer.
[...] National: Where are the Technologists on the EAC Advisory Board? http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1331 [...]
My grandpa already stopped voting due to its changes! Now it's all said and done.
I would agree the board needs more technologists but the 37 member board size is much to large to resolve issues.
[...] – 4:22 am | by Michael Masnick Ed Felten raises a rather important question concerning the lack of knowledgeable computer scientists or other voting technology experts on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Board of Advisors. As Felten notes, the EAC is in [...]
[...] Board Setting Voting Tech Standards? Ed Felten raises a rather important question concerning the lack of knowledgeable computer scientists or other voting technology experts on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Board of Advisors. As Felten notes, the EAC is in [...]
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What the f*ck?
There are four posts like this, two of them without links. None make sense.
"Ciekawa strona, trafilem tu przypadkowo, ale od dzis bede wpadal czesciej, pozdro"
In English, please.
OK ... why am I suddenly apparently talking to myself? Those posts were in reply to other posts that were in plain sight. What's going on?
Georgia Offers Fresh Evidence on War’s Start
A new front has opened between Georgia and Russia, now over which side was the aggressor whose military activities early last month ignited the lopsided five-day war. At issue is new intelligence, inconclusive on its own, that nonetheless paints a more complicated picture of the critical last hours before war broke out.
Georgia has released intercepted telephone calls purporting to show that part of a Russian armored regiment crossed into the separatist enclave of South Ossetia nearly a full day before Georgia’s attack on the capital, Tskhinvali, late on Aug. 7.
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The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 2008 science fiction film, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name.
Actually, after i've seen it, I was dissapointed. Perect cast, interest theme, but scenario doesn't conform to modern world-view and lifestyle.
Interest ot hear other opinions, do you like this movie?
Hi all!
As a fresh freedom-to-tinker.com user i only want to say hello to everyone else who uses this site ;-)
Just signed-up and would like to salute all member of this board.