BBV: Officials Defend Punch-Card Ballot

[Kadie]

Officials Defend Punch-Card Ballot

Thu Jun 3, 5:26 PM ET Add Elections - AP to My Yahoo!


By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - The much-maligned punch-card ballot got something on Thursday that many election officials were loath to give it in 2000 — respect. Chad or no chad, increasing concern about the security of electronic voting has made the punch cards look pretty good to some — although most of the machines are expected to be retired by 2006.

"Obviously punch-card voting is not the wave of the future ... but perhaps it is not the devil it has been portrayed," Lance Gough, executive director of Chicago's Board of Election Commissioners, told a hearing of a new federal voting commission.

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"It was anticipated early on that we would transition to an electronic voting system to replace the punch card, and since the controversy that's been going on around the nation we've had some officials second-guess that," said Amy Naccarato, state election director for Utah.


"Now we're finding people saying, 'What's so bad about the punch card? It's served us well for so long.'"

more... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=548&ncid=696&e=8&u=/ap/20040603/ap_on_el_ge/punch_card_ballot