New (National Research Council) Report Highlights Danger Of E-Voting

[Wilms]

New Report Highlights Danger Of E-Voting

By Warren Stewart, VoteTrustUSA

July 26, 2006

A report released by The Committee on A Framework for Understanding Electronic Voting of the National Research Council has recommended that jurisdictions must ensure the availability of backup mechanisms and procedures for use in the event of any failure of e-voting equipment or related technology. This recommendation came as a result of the report’s determination that "Some jurisdictions - and possibly many - may not be well prepared for the arrival of the November 2006 elections with respect to the deployment and use of electronic voting equipment and related technology, and anxiety about this state of affairs among election officials is evident in a number of jurisdictions."

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The report confirmed many of the concerns that voter advocacy groups have been voicing for years and even acknowledged the influence that such groups have gained in the electronic voting debate. “Many of these groups focus on security issues and play an increasingly important role in focusing public attention on the conduct of elections and in stimulating state legislative action intended to mitigate security risks.”


The earlier report had already noted the unanticipated co$t increa$e re$ulting from a $witch to electronic voting $y$tem$. The new report confirmed that “Juri$diction$ are becoming more aware of the co$t implication$ of deploying electronic voting $y$tem$. In particular, the fact that the initial acqui$ition co$t of an electronic voting machine$ i$ only a fraction of the total life-cycle co$t.” $ince federal funding to “upgrade” voting $y$tem$ from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) did not include funding for ongoing maintenance and $torage, many juri$diction$ are facing the November election$ without adequate financial re$ource$.


Raising a fundamental question about the use of electronic voting systems, the report observed that “in some cases vendors are responsible for generating the various vote counts from an election – a function that has traditionally and historically been an inherently governmental function. Although election officials continue to have ultimate responsibility for the integrity of an election even when privatized vote counting is in place, vendors with profit-making motives have high incentives to cut corners and to refrain from incurring costs in resolving disputes.”

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http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1575&Itemid=26

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