Hacking Democracy

The fact that the 2000 American Presidential Election didn't go all that smoothly is a matter of recorded fact, but things can be much worse. This documentary follows Bev Harris and her fight for a verifiable manner of voting in the United States. Harris, a California grandmother, was curious about the security of voting computers. After doing some Internet research, she found files with secret software, source codes and passwords on the website of Diebold, one of America's biggest voting computer manufacturers. Harris dug deeper, with shocking results: in Maryland, a high-priced voting system could be hacked in 15 seconds, and in Florida, she found important voting information in the trash. She didn't only discover that it's possible to manipulate electronic votes, but that there's also no one who makes sure this doesn't happen. Even the authorities who are responsible for checking election procedures are not permitted to examine equipment and software, as this would be in violation of company secrets. This exciting account of an average citizen's initiative is interspersed with archival footage of the elections, hidden camera footage and interviews with the people involved. Hacking Democracy is not a Bush-bashing film, as Democrats are also dealing with complaints about the unlawfulness of voting machines. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)