Battle to stop e-voting steps up

[Dover]

Battle to stop e-voting steps up
Roxanne Khamsi

Experts unsure what impact last-minute lawsuits will have.
Many people simply don't trust electronic voting.

© AP Photo/Phil Coale

With the US presidential election less than two weeks away, the battle over electronic voting is raging stronger than ever. Opponents of the technology have resorted to a series of lawsuits in a last-ditch attempt to stop the use of the machines.

The debate centres on the use of electronic voting equipment, ATM-like machines that register votes digitally after people make their selections on a touch-screen. Nearly 30% of voters will place their ballot using these 'e-voting' machines when choosing the next US president.

Many watchdog groups are warning that tests conducted on e-voting hardware and software are insufficient, and that faulty machines could cause votes to be missed or registered incorrectly. It's not yet clear how serious these problems will be; early voting in a dozen or so states so far has thrown up only minor glitches.

However, there is a more fundamental concern about the technology, which is that without a printed confirmation of each vote, it is impossible to hold an independent manual recount.

...cont'd

http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041018/full/041018-16.html