A touch of controversy

The turmoil that surrounded the 2000 presidential-vote recount in Florida prompted a national call for an overhaul of the nation’s voting systems. Early on, many eyed electronic voting — specifically, touch-screen machines — as the best solution.

Four years later, that “solution” has created as much uncertainty as confidence.

Touch-screen “machines can give results, but no one knows if they are accurate, because they can’t produce a recount,” said Aviel Rubin, a computer sciences professor at Johns Hopkins University, who has studied electronic voting machines in depth.

Mr. Rubin, also technical director of the Information Security Institute at Hopkins, added: “I’m hoping we have a landslide on Nov. 2. For if we have a close election, it could be a disaster.”

Paul DeGregorio, a member of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), a panel that provides federal money to states to help them reform elections, put it this way: “Some people say touch-screen machines are tools of the devil. Others say these systems are saviors of the election and everything in between. What we do know is that these machines have been used successfully and can be used successfully.”

In Florida, things went smoothly in the Aug. 31 primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat. Fifteen of 67 Florida counties used touch-screen machines.

“There were absolutely no problems with the electronic voting machines. … The secretary of state was very pleased,” said Alia Faraj, a spokeswoman for that office.

But some skeptics remained unconvinced, pointing out that turnout for that election will be much less than that expected on Nov. 2.

Mr. Rubin and others in the field also condemn the refusal by firms that certify voting equipment to say publicly whether they have encountered shoddy workmanship in any machines they’ve tested.

“It’s a travesty that testing results are not being made public,” he said. “This whole veil of secrecy that exists is the opposite of what you want when it comes to voting in a democracy.”

Nationally, only about 29 percent of voters will be using electronic voting Nov. 2. And they will be doing so amid questions about the system’s security and dependability.

Only four states — Delaware, Georgia, Maryland and Nevada — will be using electronic voting systems exclusively for the Nov. 2 elections.

About a third of voters nationwide will be using optical-scan equipment, said Election Data Services Inc., a District-based consulting firm. Optical scans require running paper ballots through electronic tabulators.

Most voters, however, will find the procedures for voting in their state varying widely from county to county or precinct to precinct. It’s a reflection of the changing face of how the nation votes — a reflection that is slow to change.

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