Briefs

Voting machines to be scrutinized by
commission

SAN JOSE “”mdash; As alarm mounts over the integrity of the
ATM-like voting machines 50 million Americans will use in the
November election, a new federal agency has begun scrutinizing how
to safeguard electronic polling from fraud, hackers and faulty
software.

But the tiny U.S. Election Assistance Commission says it is so
woefully underfunded that it can’t be expected to forestall
widespread voting machine problems, which would cast doubt on the
election’s integrity.

The commission ““ which conducts the first federal hearing
on security and reliability of e-voting on Wednesday ““
laments its predicament in a new report.

The Washington, D.C. hearing will focus on the security risks of
touchscreen machines, which computer scientists say cannot be
trusted because they do not produce paper records, making proper
recounts impossible. Despite reassurances from the machines’
makers, at least 20 states are considering legislation to require a
paper trail.

After hearing from academics, elections officials and voting
equipment company executives, the commission will issue
recommendations ““ for example, that poll workers should keep
a stack of paper ballots handy in case machines fail to start.
Machines in more than half the precincts in California’s San
Diego County malfunctioned during the March 2 presidential primary,
and a lack of paper ballots may have disenfranchised hundreds of
voters.

Reports from Bruin wire services.

UC Santa Cruz studies Dutch marijuana use: In
the first rigorous study comparing marijuana use in the Netherlands
and the United States, researchers at UC Santa Cruz have found no
evidence that decriminalization of marijuana leads to increased
drug use. The results suggest that drug policies may have less
impact on marijuana use than currently thought.

The study compared the cannabis, or marijuana and hashish,
habits of users in Amsterdam and San Francisco to test the premise
that punishment for cannabis use deters use, benefitting public
health.

Despite widespread lawful availability of cannabis in Amsterdam,
there were no differences between the two cities in age at onset of
use, age at first regular use or age at the start of maximum
use.

The study found no evidence that lawfully regulated cannabis
provides a “gateway” to other illicit drug use. In
fact, marijuana users in San Francisco were far more likely to have
used other illicit drugs ““ cocaine, crack, amphetamines,
ecstasy, and opiates ““ than users in Amsterdam.

With reports from Daily Bruin wire services