French Voting Machines a "Catastrophe"

eldavojohn writes "The electronic voting machine has soured another election. Some French voters have reportedly turned away in disgust after facing up to two hours in lines to use the machines. Further, the article reports, 'Researchers at Paul Verlaine University in Metz said that trials on two of the three machines used in France showed that four people out of every seven aged over 65 could not get their votes recorded.' This article concentrates primarily on usability and efficiency, but surprisingly mentions little (aside from user trust issues) about the security embodied in the machines or whether it was satisfactory. I think all three aspects are important to anyone aiming to produce voting machines. The manufacturer of these particular machines is France Élection."

More Info

[Philotic]

More information on the French machines can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine [wikipedia.org]

Why is it....

[stox]

that what should be the a simple implementation in modern technology is an unmitigated train wreck? Is there a single current voting machine that is considered reliable? Now for the scary thought, the people we trust to chosse are voting machines are making decisions about far more complex issues on a daily basis. I hate to say it, but we're doomed.

Well Christ, no wonder!

[Anonymous Coward]

They only had three machines for everybody to use, and two of them were off being tested in some lab?

It's a wonder any votes were cast at all!

Thats the problem with elections...

[patio11]

... people turn up and try to vote. The nerve of them.

Re:bad UI

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm, let's see...well, I obviously grip the panel with both hands on the blue rubber grips provided, then I guess I smash my forehead into the button marked "Vote" at the top.

In other words...

[fahrbot-bot]

Some French voters have reportedly turned away in disgust after facing up to two hours in lines to use the machines.

In other words, they threw up their hands and surrendered.
[Their place in line, of course.]

Quelle surprise!

Paper ballots

[Dobeln]

One word: Paper ballots.

No Wonder They're Confused!

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone screwed around with the language setting and got the machines stuck in French! I hate when that happens, look for "Anglais" to get back to sanity.

French dictionary

[Attila the Bun]

Here in France, a "Catastrophe" is something which is mildly irritating, like a crack in the pavement. So for example,

"Sacré bleu, c'est pas possible! Merde alors, c'est le fin de la civilisation! Il nous faut encore un révolution. Quelle catastrophe."

translates into UK English as

"Oh!"

Voting?

[IHC Navistar]

French voting..... .....As well engineered as the Maginot Line!

"Not to worry, Mr. De Gaulle. The Germans will never come through the forest."

Re:bad UI

[MyLongNickName]

sounds like a UI design problem to me

Seriously! I mean it is like they put the instructions in some foreign language or something

Cordially Yours,
American

Of course it's bad!

[parvenu74]

This looks like it came out of the "French Headlines" section of a journalist's template guide:

1. French (insert object name here) a Catastrophe!
2. French (insert object name here) a Fiasco!
3. French (insert object name here) a Miserable Failure!
4. French (insert object name here) Surrendered!