The Wizard of Odd

How a convicted felon and admitted drug dealer has become the blogosphere's secret weapon in the war against e-voting

Time Photo Illustration: Kimberlin: Chriss Wade for Time; Voting Machine: Brent Humphreys / Redux for Time

Despite a spotty past, Internet activist Brett Kimberlin has played a central role in the debate over electronic voting.

One of the first decisions Nancy Pelosi had to make after she was sworn in as Speaker of the House was one of the most basic in a democracy: whether to seat the state-certified winner of an election. Vern Buchanan, a wealthy Republican car dealer, was declared the victor of the House election in Florida's 13th District by 369 votes in November. But 18,000 voters from a heavily Democratic county somehow didn't register a choice in that particular race, and Buchanan's opponent, Christine Jennings, claims their votes were swallowed up by paperless electronic-voting machines. Jennings has brought a suit asking for...

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