Groups work for trouble-free vote
By KIM COBB
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Two federal election advisory groups are meeting in Houston this week to review a written "tool kit" for election officials designed to prevent the kind of controversies that called into question the results of the 2000 presidential election.

But the advisers must raceto get revisions into the draft document, which the U.S. Election Assistance Commission hopes to print by mid-July. The next challenge isdistributing the list of voting "best practices" to the state and local officials in time make changes before the November election.

"We've got to get it out there," urged adviser Joe Crangle. "This document should be sent to every editorial board in the country and to political party officials not just to election officials."

The document spells out suggestions for lever voting systems, punch-card systems, optical scan systems and the controversial touch-screen "direct recording" systems. And it offers detailed instructions for pre-election management, from poll worker recruitment to creating partnerships with community groups.

But the recommendations involve intensive training on the equipment for election workers who will operate them, educating voters how to use the equipment and preparing plans for the inevitable election day glitches.

The EAC Board of Advisers, which met Monday, is composed of 37 members drawn from national associations and government agencies involved with voting and from science and technology related professions appointed by Congress. The Standards Board, which meets today, is composed of 110 state and local election officials.

Neither group is charged with solving the debate over the security of paperless voting systems. About 29 percent of U.S. voters are expected to cast their ballots on touch-screen machines in November, and some critics charge the technology is vulnerable to software tampering and incapable of providing real documentation of votes for a recount.

Advisers did recommend to the EAC that all vendors of U.S. voting machines regardless of technology be requested to provide their proprietary software to a U.S. Department of Commerce software reference library. Putting the software on file would provide a baseline for comparison if allegations of fraud, tampering or software error are made .

Craig Burkhardt, chief counsel for technology for the Commerce Department, said he doubted that the existence of a well-stocked voting machine software library would calm the furor over digital touch-screen voting. But Mary Kiffmeyer, the Minnesota secretary of state, noted that since her state is a battleground, she thinks putting a neutral, third party in a position to help prove the functionality of challenged software could prove invaluable.

"Everybody thinks these little details aren't important, unless it's close," Kiffmeyer said.

Congress did not create the U.S. Election Assistance Commission until two years after the 2000 presidential election bogged down over questions of polling errors in Florida. The commissioners to that body were not appointed until last January, and this is the first time the Board of Advisers and Standards Board have met.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The draft document being reviewed makes these recommendations to address some of the technology challenges:

• Obtain a guarantee in writing that the voting system has met state certification standards or undergone independent testing to meet voluntary federal guidelines.

• Test every unit when it comes out of storage

• Invite the public and media to view all aspects of testing

• Implement a well-organized procedure that documents every instance when the equipment changes hands