Mikulski sees voting problems firsthand

Takoma Park, MD, Sep. 13 (UPI) Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., tested an electronic voting machine at a Maryland folk festival and the device failed to accurately record her vote.

Mikulski was asked to participate in a demonstration of the touch-screen machines that Maryland plans to use in the November elections. The three-term senator, who was already considering sponsoring a bill to require such machines provide a paper receipt, tried to vote "no" on a question on a sample ballot, but the machine said she voted "yes."

"She pushed one answer and the opposite answer popped up, Stan Boyd, a Silver Spring, Md., election judge told the Baltimore Sun. "She can see for herself that the machines does not work right. I was so amazed."

A Mikulski spokesman told the newspaper the problem could have been caused by Mikulski, who may have accidentally brushed the "yes" button and not have noticed. The spokesman said this also suggested the sensitivity of the machines could be a problem.

Maryland is to use electronic voting machines this November, employing AccuVote TS machines manufactured by Diebold Electronic System. The $55 million system was used in primaries in March without many reported problems, the Sun reported.