N.C. bill requires trail of voting

Machines would have to generate paper ballot or record for use in dispute

SHARIF DURHAMS AND MARK JOHNSON

Charlotte Observer    30 July 2005

State lawmakers are pushing through a bill that would require all N.C. voting machines to produce a paper ballot or record that can be used in disputed elections.

The legislation would limit counties to three types of voting machines: optical scan, electronic recording or hand-counted paper ballots. House leaders are gearing up for hearings on the bill next week that senators adopted unanimously this week.

Lawmakers worked on the bill for months after several problems in November's elections led to thousands of lost votes, disputed races and the lack of a state schools superintendent.

"I think restoring faith in our democracy is one of the most important things we can do," said Sen. Janet Cowell, a Raleigh Democrat.

Advocates of verifiable voting have insisted on a paper record that the voter can see and correct but that is kept secure for possible recounts.

It's unclear whether the language of the bill satisfies all of their concerns.

The legislation also includes a pilot project to test verified voting systems that do not use paper, an idea that drew criticism during meetings of a commission of public officials and citizens this year as an effort to shift away from paper records.

The state has been holding about $50 million in federal money for new machines provided by the Help America Vote Act until lawmakers determined the kinds of machines they wanted.

The N.C. Board of Elections oversees the vote in all 100 counties. But county governments are responsible for running their elections, including the purchase of machines.

In November's troubles, Carteret County, on the state's coast, gained national media attention when more than 4,400 votes were wiped from the memory of an electronic voting machine. The lost votes generated lawsuits over two close statewide races. One of those disputes, over the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, remains unresolved.

Closer to Charlotte, Gaston elections director Sandra Page was forced to resign after her office had problems counting the county's votes.