[FPSPACE] Re: Jim Oberg's article in /Launchspace/

[Jens Kieffer-Olsen]

In message FPSPACE digest, Vol 1 #145 Dwayne Allen Day 
<wayneday@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu> wrote:

[snip]
>It will be interesting to see what happens to the launch quota issue
>regarding both Russia and China now that we have a Republican president
>and a (mostly) Republican Congress. 

Let me join DDay in congratulating G W Bush on his election victory !  Surely
time prohibits an arbitrary overturn of a fair ( but inherently inaccurate ) count.

That said it is to be hoped that the new president will pledge the United States
to develop before the end of the decade a reliable technique to ensure that in
the future every vote cast by Fred Flintstone's descendants will count.  The idea
of a democracy is that the outcome may hinge on just one vote, and therefore
precision is of essence when designing automated voting systems.

Another detail which may need revision is the reliance on foreign datestamps
on absentee votes.  The Danish voting law for instance requires that all such
votes have been received BEFORE election day ( or rather hour ).  Thereby
tampering with absentee voting is virtually eliminated.  Granted, during the 
referendum on the European common currency a plane carrying a number of 
such votes was delayed due to bad weather and the votes therefore not
accepted, but this issue was closed before voting started and could therefore
not have become a bone of contention in the event of a hung result.      

--
Jens Kieffer-Olsen
Slagelse, Denmark