June 19, 2006

"Touch-screen voting's steep learning curve"

"While 21 more California counties made the leap into touch-screen voting in this month's primary election, problems continued to surround the controversial electronic systems.

Across the state, troubles linked to the high-tech systems delayed voting, slowed counting and left people questioning the results of tight elections.

"I'm still feeling that electronic voting is not ready for prime time," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, a nonpartisan group that deals with issues of voting and technology.

While the election featured the usual glitches and hiccups that accompany any statewide vote, a number of problems stood out:

-- In Kern County, early morning voters were told to come back later when numerous voting machines could not be used because county election officials failed to purge the voter access cards of the codes from the last election.

-- In at least one Stockton precinct, state-required security seals were pulled from the voting machines, which then were not taken out of service, as state rules require.

-- Precinct workers in San Diego were allowed to keep the touch-screen machines in their homes, under minimal security, for as long as three weeks before the June 6 election, leading Democratic activists to call for a hand count of all ballots in a close congressional race.

The continuing complaints and problems with various electronic voting systems probably will force the state and its counties to take a hard look at whether the move toward high-tech voting is worth the trouble."

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at June 19, 2006 09:04 AM