Inside the Beltway

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By John McCaslin

UH-OH

The mixed bag of voting methods and systems in the 2006 general election varied across the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and is not expected to change substantially for the 2008 general election.

So reveals the Government Accountability Office, pointing out that each local jurisdiction certifies the reliability of their systems, in some cases conducting post-election audits.

But, says the GAO, "Notwithstanding their system approval and testing efforts, most states, territories, and the District nevertheless have reported experiencing problems on Election Day. While these entities largely described the problems as isolated and having minimal impact, a few reported that they experienced problems that were more widespread and significant.

"However, the full scope of the problems that may have been experienced is not clear because states and others reported that local jurisdictions were generally not required to report problems."

CHAD DONATION

Speaking of unreliable voting machines, Inside the Beltway in recent days was honored to donate to the Newseum in Washington one of the actual Votomatic voting machines, complete with thousands of tiny chads, used in Palm Beach County, Fla., during the infamous 2000 presidential election.

"Property of Supervisor of Elections Palm Beach County Florida," the worn sticker on the outside of the contraption read.

We even turned over for public viewing three dozen worthless paper ballots from the November 7 election (just for fun, we punched a hole for Al Gore), as well as instructions for voting:

"Step 1: Using both hands, insert the ballot card all the way into the vote recorder. Step 2: Be sure the two slots in the end of your card fit down over the two red pins. Step 3: To vote, hold the voting instrument straight up. Punch straight down through the ballot card for the candidates or issues of your choice. Do not use pen or pencil. Step 4: Vote appropriate pages. Legal time limit for voting is 5 minutes.