DC election website hacked, John Philip Sousa pleased

Unlike the secrecy that usually surrounds e-voting efforts, the folks at the Washington D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics had a novel approach: Why not invite hacksters of all stripes and temperaments to bust into the new online system being tested for overseas and military voters? Of course, it was only a matter of time before a security hole was discovered -- and now we know that the University of Michigan fight song is called The Victors. It seems that a certain college professor unleashed his students on the site, at which point they quickly sniffed a way in and left an MP3 of the tune ("the greatest college fight song ever written," according to John Philip Sousa) as their calling card. The board has made the source code and server info available (the better to test its mettle) and we must say, it's certainly good to see public officials paying more than lip service to security -- especially where electronic voting is concerned. The site was down over the weekend, and is back up now, but with one crucial difference: ballots will have to be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed in.