In a nutshell, this article asks whether a lack of transparency in the voting process could allow corporate interests to usurp the integrity of the voting process. Its answer, in a nutshell, is “Damn Skippy.”
Trade secrets consist of information that would damage a business were its competitors to know. So, recipes and algorithms alike can be rendered confidential. But should the code used by a voting machine to count our votes be inscrutable to the public eye?
If the machines are manufactured in China, or some other nation, might it ever be in their interest to co-opt an election? Could a hacker get into a system and change the code that counts our votes? Such things are not only possible, they have already happened. There are simply times when what is best for a corporation and what is best for a citizen cannot be reconciled. There are times we choose between what makes the most money, and what makes the most sense in terms of the common good.
This is why unbounded capitalism and democracy are fundamentally incompatible. Should we be surprised to realize, when everything else is for sale, that we ourselves have been bought or sold?