Indian Voting Machines Compared with Diebold [Slashdot]
The story and the posting should be an eye opener for IT architects and designers as well as policy makers. The good old dictum, keep it simple, stupid is always valid. In order to use technology effectively, make sure the design and implementation remains as simple as possible. A properly balanced socio-technical design is always superior to an all-tech system. In a well balanced system, the desigenr focuses on creating the best advantages for both technology and individual. In India, for example, there is an abundant supply of educated manpower. Material like paper for ballots, utilities like power, infrastructure like communication networks are expensive and limited. Technological solutions must account for this. The design and implementation of the EVM takes into account these factors.
US based IT designers and policy makers can learn from this. Afterall, India is a better democracy than the US, by all means!
12:20:11 PM 
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