Voter-Verified Paper Ballots and Electronic Voting
"The ballot is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democracy ... And if that is threatened, we won't have much left ... I almost gave my life for all of our citizens to participate in the democratic process. Not just to get a vote, but to have all the votes counted."
Georgia U.S. Representative John Lewis, who suffered a fractured skull during the 1965 march on Selma. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 15, 2004]
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What's wrong with the new electronic voting terminals?
The new terminals, most of which are equipped with touchscreens, are supposed to make it easier for people to vote. The problem is that the machines also have a computer that records the votes. Not only are they vulnerable to technical malfunction, but they don't offer a way for voters to know that the vote is recorded correctly — everything takes place inside the machine. Since the software is so complicated, and there is so little oversight, the machines introduce a risk for this coming election and elections in the future. This is a risk we don't need to take.
''I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.''
Wally O'Dell, chairman and chief executive of Diebold, Inc., in a fundraising letter for George W. Bush. Diebold is largest maker of electronic voting terminals in the U.S. Months later, O'Dell apologized. [New York Times, May 12, 2004]
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Would we be able to tell if the electronic terminals aren't working right?
If the terminals don't work at all, then you might not be able to vote, unless there are enough backup paper ballots at your polling place. As we know from Florida, voter disenfranchisement can swing an election.
"We apologize for that ... I believe it's a fundamental design flaw."
Diebold Election Systems Inc. President Robert Urosevich, conceding that the company's machines did not work in some instances during California's March 2004 election, potentially costing some voters their chance to vote. [Reuters, April 21, 2004]
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Even terminals that seem to work can't be audited if they don't produce a printout that voters can verify. Since the electronic count is the only record, they offer no way to do a recount or to check the results. The evidence suggests there have been serious problems with electronic vote counts already. Here are three of the many examples:
- Florida: In a Broward County special election with only one race on the ballot, electronic terminals didn't record any vote at all for 134 voters. The election was decided by 12 votes. [Miami Herald, Jan. 8, 2004]
- Texas: In Comal County, three candidates (two Republicans and a conservative judge) won local seats in the 2002 elections, each receiving exactly 18,181 votes in electronic counts. [San Antonio Express-News, Nov. 8, 2002].
"Isn't that the weirdest thing? We noticed it right away, but it is just a big coincidence."
Joy Streater, Comal County clerk.
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- Georgia: In 2002, Republican Saxby Chambliss won an upset victory over Sen. Max Cleland, beating pre-election polls by over 10 percent. Meanwhile Republican Sonny Perdue beat Gov. Roy Barnes in an equally surprising upset. Because nearly all of Georgia's votes were counted on electronic voting terminals, a recount was impossible. [Salon, Feb. 9, 2004]
Nobody can prove that these results were wrong -- but nobody can prove they were right, either.
Why are these new machines being introduced?
After the debacle in Florida in the 2000 presidential election, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 was passed. HAVA provides funding for states to replace antiquated voting systems such as punch cards. However it doesn't require that new systems provide a voter-verified paper ballot, or any form of paper trail that the voters themselves can check. For more information on HAVA, see http://www.demos-usa.org/page14.cfm.
"I clearly believe that there are certain people within the election process who don't want that scrutiny on how elections are run."
Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller, commenting on Nevada's decision to require a paper trail in this November's election. [Sun-Sentinel, Feb. 2, 2004]
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Where can I find more information on this issue?
VerifiedVoting.org has been doing great work on Voter-Verified Paper Ballots. Visit their web site to read about national legislation and to find out how to protect the vote in your state.
"The core of our American democracy is the right to vote. Implicit in that right is the notion that that vote be private, that vote be secure, and that vote be counted as it was intended when it was cast by the voter."
California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, addressing California's Voting Systems Panel, Dec. 16, 2003. [http://www.verifiedvoting.org/kevinshelley2003dec16.asp]
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