Democracy or a $6 Snickers?

Stalwart friend of freedom Ed Felten -- imagine the watch lists he's on -- comes up with the blog post header of the century with 'Hotel MiniBar' Keys Open Diebold Voting Machines over at his Freedom to Tinker site.

That news pretty much covers the overall security found on many e-voting machines, physical and otherwise. And I don't think you have to subscribe to some tin-foil, vote-stealing conspiracy mailing list to be pretty alarmed by Felten's find. This seems to be yet another example of a politically wired contractor taking a technologically illiterate government -- governments, actually -- for a quick and dirty fleecing. See also the E-Rate program, the FBI's computer woes, just about any county courthouse in the nation -- oh, and hospitals, do not forget hospitals.

The November elections could produce serious drama should enough races finish close enough for questions about the security of the ballot to have some rational basis. Imagine if control of Congress hinged on who had access to a mini-bar key?