Was Your Vote Tamper Evident?

Did you vote in the 2008 election? If so, how safe do you think your vote was? That was the question posed of a recent ABC news segment titled "How Safe Is Your Vote?" While Barack Obama beat out John McCain in the presidential race by a pretty resounding margin, other contests across the nation proved a lot closer, where every vote counted. As a result, voter fraud was on the minds of many as they entered and exited the polling booths.

A team of Princeton computer scientists recently examined voting procedures in New Jersey and came to the conclusion that in this day and age of electronic voting machines, votes are "not that safe" and are far too susceptible to fraud. "All you need is 10 minutes of unsupervised access to a voting machine to open it up and stick in a vote stealing program," pointed out one of the computer scientists involved in the investigation. "In 5 seconds he was able to pick the lock on a machine. In less than 10 minutes, the professor demonstrated how he was able to unscrew the back panel and replace the computer chip with one he programmed to steal votes."

So what did the state of New Jersey do about its voter fraud susceptibility? New Jersey's Director of Elections, Robert Giles, said, "Every one of the ten thousand voting machines used on election night will have layers of tamper-proof security. We have metal cable seals. We have security screw caps, tamper evident tape."

The computer scientist who was able to hack in, however, questioned the state's security measures. "Those tamper-proof seals can be faked; it's not that difficult." What's more, New Jersey was "just one of a handful of states ... [that used] ... the paperless, electronic voting machines on Tuesday."

When it comes to matters like eating, drinking and even voting, where one can never be too safe, reputable tamper evident protection can go a long way toward eliciting peace of mind. A leading manufacturer, converter and printer of heat shrink PVC, PET-G, OPS & EarthFirst PLA films provides that peace of mind not just on Election Day, but every day of the year. Specializing in vibrantly printed shrink labels, heat shrink bands used for tamper-evidence and shrink sleeves for promotional multipacks and other shrink products, such a company adds to consumer - and voter - confidence.

Tamper-evident shrink bands can be cut to the customer's exact specifications. Other tamper-evident options include tubing in clear and white, which is printed with "Sealed For Your Protection." Such tubing is offered in rolls for use on automatic equipment like electronic voting machines. Tubing can also be cut to order, and single vertical perforations can be added.

Whether the New Jersey Board of Elections had such protective measures in place prior to residents casting their 2008 ballots remains up in the air. However, such tamper-evident security initiatives are definitely something the state - and all states - should look into to assure the validity of every single vote that is cast.

Carmen Fontana is a Web Services Manger for Western Reserve Internet Services. Learn more about tamper evident packaging at http://www.printpack.com/sealit.

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