Ed Felten Wonders Why He's Part of the District 13 Study

Brad Friedman wonders why Princeton University computer science Professor Ed Felten is listed as a member of the FSU Project Team. The team is working on the report as to the causes of undervoting in the District 13 Congressional race.

The following members shall comprise the initial team of the principal investigators:

Alec Yasinsac, Associate Professor, Computer Science Department, Florida State University

Mike Burmester, Professor, Computer Science Department, Florida State University Breno de Medeiros, Assistant Professor, Computer Science Department, Florida State University

Ed Felten, Professor, Computer Science Department, Princeton University

Michael Shamos, Professor Computer Science Department, Carnegie-Mellon University

David Wagner, Associate Professor, Computer Science Division, University of California-Berkley

Matt Bishop, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of California-Davis

Felten publicly stated he is not involved with the FSU Project Team.

The second attempt was by the Department of State (DOS) of the state of Florida, who commissioned a study by outside experts. Oddly, I am listed in the official Statement of Work (SOW) as a principal investigator on the study team, even though I am not a member of the team.

Felten also expressed misgivens about the conditions the Department of State has set up the study.

The biggest limitation on the study is that DOS is withholding information and resources needed for a complete study. Most notably, they are not providing access to voting machines. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that if you want to understand the behavior of voting machines, it helps to have a voting machine to examine.

Felten turned down the opportunity to work on the team because the DOS did not want a "complete, independent study." That is a shame. Florida has an embarrassing record for elections. That is good for late nite comedians, but Floridians lose out.