Panel defers decision on voting audit trails

BY TYLER WHITLEY    Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH Nov 23, 2005

A legislative subcommittee studying new voting equipment deferred a decision this week on whether to recommend paper audit trails on new voting equipment.
 

This came after Jean R. Jensen, the secretary of the State Board of Elections, cautioned members to wait before adopting new technology.

It also followed testimony that paper trails cause more problems than they solve.

There has been a nationwide push to refigure new voting machines so people can see how they voted and so election officials can have a paper trail to determine election-result accuracy. Twenty-five states have adopted a voter-verified paper trail, following California's lead.

But Jensen said there have been problems. "Let the technology evolve," she said.

Election officials overwhelmingly oppose the paper trails, because they have confidence that the new voter machines are accurate, she said. In addition, the machine upgrades would cost $800 to $1,200 per machine, a total cost to Virginia localities of $6 million to $12 million, Jensen said.

The paper trail, which resembles the rolled paper on an adding machine, is so long and unwieldy that officials in Nevada had trouble counting the ballots during a recount, the committee was told.

Of more concern to election officials is an aging population of election workers, Jensen said. The average age is 72 and, working long hours on Election Day, workers make mistakes, she said.

Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, R-Fairfax, said Monday that voter confidence in the integrity of the ballot is more important than inconveniences and costs to local election officials.

Computer experts have told the committee that the voting machines can be hacked into and compromised, she said.

Jensen reported that the state has received more than $25 million in federal money under the Help America Vote Act to replace its outdated punch-card and mechanical-lever machines. Congress enacted the law after the 2000 presidential election.

Most localities have opted for touch-screen machines, she said. In the most recent election, 69 percent of the votes were cast on those machines, Jensen said.