February 14, 2007

"Fix the machines"

"TECHNOLOGY ought to make vote counting faster, more convenient and immune to fraud. Instead, it has inspired suspicion and doubt with each election adding to the problem.

Washington has had enough. Democrats in the House and Senate are drawing up bills requiring paper printouts of what's recorded by electronic vote-tabulating machines.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs a committee overseeing voting, says she will produce a bill to preserve each vote on a paper printout. A similar House bill has the backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

California already mandates these so-called paper trails, which can be saved for recounts or ballot disputes. But many states have switched to touch-screen systems, which don't have this feature, leading some voters to worry if their votes are counted correctly.

The on-and-off debate over electronic voting has re-started because of yet another Florida ballot dustup. Some 18,000 touch-screen ballots failed to record votes in a congressional district race that was won by 369 votes. The loser, a Democrat, is trying to prove that faulty electronic machines skewed the count. Republicans say a confusing ballot design led voters to skip the district. The episode has led Florida's governor to seek a ban on all touch-screen balloting.

The country's patience is clearly wearing thin. Printing a supermarket-style receipt for a voter to see -- and authorities to keep for recounts -- appears to be a solution, even if it comes with tradeoffs."

Posted by Randy Riddle at February 14, 2007 07:18 AM