Schoolmarm, this portion of the FAQ includes the following, which I think answers your question:
>> How exactly can the K-Com tell whether an unknown e-mail address is from a FOLC or not?
In general, we can't. Therefore, we assume that all votes are valid unless we have other reasons to investigate more closely. We assume that FOLCs will play fair, and we are only rarely disappointed.
For the most part, it's an honor system. But if something catches our eye as being fishy, we'll definitely investigate further.
As for the situation where two FoLCs share an IP number, probably the best bet would be to drop Erin a note when you vote and let her know the situation, just in case. It's a pretty rare occurance and I know when it's happened in the past (that multiple votes have come from the same IP number), Erin has emailed the parties involved and asked them for an explanation. In the majority of cases, there was a reasonable explanation though we have definitely caught some people who tried to vote multiple times (say using their home and school addresses and/or fake addresses).
But seeing as we have husband/wife FoLCs and even mother/daughter FoLCs (Erin's Mom used to be a regular with us on IRC while the show was on the air, though she's not active any longer
), this in itself will not automatically disqualify a ballot.
Kathy
