I can’t help but think about the 2008 election. Right?

I already have a candidate in mind, and I’ll vote for that person if that person makes it to the general election. But with all the hoopla about Iowa and caucuses and who’s ahead in one poll versus who is ahead in another poll, I can’t help but scream a little inside my head.

And I know it’s not just me. I met a friend for breakfast this morning, and he was freaking out about NPR’s coverage of Iowa. He couldn’t get over all the “man on the street” interviews…”Who cares?” he kept asking.

But I’m not here to criticize any outlet’s coverage, I just think there are some bigger issues to keep in mind this election cycle.

For instance, check out this report. The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office released it last month. In it, three teams of researchers evaluated the security of electronic voting systems used in that state. The three systems include Election Systems and Software (ES&S), Hart InterCivic and Premier Election Solutions (formerly called Diebold).

Their conclusion?

All of the studied systems possess critical security failures that render their technical controls insufficient to guarantee a trustworthy election.

Not only that, but:

The security failures present in the studied systems place incredible pressures on the physical election procedures. The review teams provide a number of procedures that mitigate or completely address issues throughout. However, in many cases, we could not identify any practical procedures that adequately address the limitations.

The state of Colorado has just decertified its ES&S system — which, by the way, is used by most precincts here in New Mexico.

(Today, in fact, Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, is hosting a public forum on “possible legislative solutions to problems following the decertification of electronic voting machines by Secretary of State Mike Coffman.”)

KUNM has done some great coverage of the issue here in New Mexico, which you can access on-line here. If you aren’t familiar with this issue, this story by Jim Williams is a fantastic place to start.

It would be nice if we could all move beyond the beauty contest in Iowa — where candidates will say whatever they can to win favor — and concentrate on some real issues.

update: Like I was saying….Here’s a story from Sunday’s NYT Magazine, titled, “Can You Count on Voting Machines?”