State OKs paper trail for e-voting

California becomes first to set standards

for voting machines

By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER

California approved the nation's first standards Tuesday for a paper record to be produced by electronic voting machines and verified by voters.

Congress and at least 20 states are debating laws requiring that electronic voting machines produce a "voter-verified paper trail" so voters can be sure their electronic vote was properly recorded and so local officials would have something to recount.

But no one is certain what such a paper trail would look like, although about a half-dozen voting-system vendors have developed or are working on e-voting machines that generate a printout.

California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley ordered all e-voting machines in the state to offer the paper trail by July 2006 and had promised to define it by the end of May.

 

"California is at the forefront of the movement toward a paper trail and these standards help lead the way," said Kim Alexander, a paper-trail advocate and president of the Davis-based California Voter Foundation. "The whole idea is we do not want to have a voting system that depends on machines to tell us who won an election, where any reasonable person can observe the vote counting process and walk away with confidence that the results are accurate."

The state's seven-page specifications are sparse on some details, such as the level of reliability for printers to produce the paper trail. But the standards mandate printouts in both English and the voter's own foreign language, if needed, and production of a simultaneous audio signal for visually handicapped voters.

The paper trail would be displayed under glass or plastic and could not be touched by the voter. Voters would be able to void or reject up to two printed ballots. In an ordinary election, the electronic ballot would still serve as the record of a voter's intent. But in the event of a recount, the paper record, having been verified personally by the voter, would become the ballot and resolve election challenges "unless there is clear evidence that the paper record copy is inaccurate, incomplete or unreadable."

Clearing up the language, handicapped accessibility and legal role of the new paper records were among the

largest unknowns of a paper trail.

Manufacturers and some elections officials say the paper trail adds an unnecessary and costly element to e-voting machines that generally are more accurate than other voting methods, except hand-marked and counted ballots.

But Shelley and other California officials say instability and lax security of the current generation of e-voting machines have made a paper trail inescapable.

"We're putting it out there and we believe it's necessary and critical for ensuring the security and accuracy of voting," said Undersecretary of State Mark Kyle. "This helps put some meat on the bones, to make it more real. It gives guidance to the vendors and the elections officials know how it would work."

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission still is studying the idea of a paper trail and specifications for e-voting machines to produce one. If those specifications vary widely from California's or if new and better verification technologies than the paper trail come alone, Kyle said, the state will make changes.