Printers draw fire and praise   Original Story

By Kathy Bushouse
Staff Writer
Posted February 2 2004

When Nevada voters go to the polls in November, they'll be among the first in the nation to cast their ballots on a touch-screen voting machine, then double-check them on a piece of paper before making their choices official.

Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller expects that elections officials nationwide will be watching closely, with some of them hoping that the printers fail. "I clearly believe that there are certain people within the election process who don't want that scrutiny on how elections are run," Heller said. "Why elections directors so fight this process is just incredible to me."

Heller sees the printers as a way to boost voter confidence and, in turn, voter turnout. That's why he set a November deadline for all the state's voting machines to be outfitted with printers that provide a paper copy of a ballot.

Just as steadfast in opposition are elections supervisors such as Kurt Browning, the longtime supervisor in Pasco County and legislative chairman for the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections. He'll use a printer if he's required to, but he considers them a waste of money.

There are enough security checks in voting machines to ensure votes are being counted, and Florida's voting systems go through rigorous tests to show they can withstand moisture, dust, wind, and being ped, Browning said. Printers just aren't needed, he argues. "I have not yet been convinced that these [voting] systems are prone to error," he said.

For now, momentum in South Florida seems to favor those supporting printers for touch-screen machines, despite concerns from elections officials that the printers could come with another, unrealized set of problems and unnecessary costs.

Counties want printers

Palm Beach County commissioners are expected to approve Tuesday a resolution vowing to buy printers for the county's 5,400 machines once the printers get state certification. That would get the county out of a lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, who has turned to the legal system to get ballot printers for touch-screen machines.

Commissioners in Broward and Miami-Dade counties also have said they want the printers, and federal and state legislators have filed bills to mandate them.

Many point to the recent District 91 state representative race decided by a mere 12 votes and punctuated by 137 voters choosing none of the seven candidates as an example of why the printers are needed.

Both companies' machines produced printed records for the District 91 recount showing how many votes were cast on each machine and for whom. Yet there was no way to determine whether a voter intended to go to the polls but not cast a ballot.

With a printout, advocates say voter intent could be determined and machine votes could be recounted by hand.

"I believe what has happened in Broward and Palm Beach County, in this race for state representative, is an indication that nothing is perfect when it comes to this system," County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said. "We want it to be as close as perfect as possible, but it's not now."

The printers are expensive, with an estimated cost of more than $3 million to outfit Palm Beach County's 5,400 voting machines. But proponents such as Aaronson and Wexler say it's worth the cost and that federal money can be used to pay for the printers.

"It's a small expense, compared to the cost of the machines," Wexler said. "It's an even smaller expense when compared to the cost of the confusion that we had in 2000, or in the state house race."

Their beliefs are buoyed by experts such as Avi Rubin, a computer science professor at The Johns Hopkins University and co-author of a July analysis of voting machine security. Rubin said he thinks printers for touch-screen machines are a necessity.

Computers can fail, software can have problems, and the printers provide a backup, Rubin said.

"If somebody goes up to a touch-screen voting machine and votes and leaves, what guarantee do they have that that vote was actually counted?" Levin said. "That's asking a lot of most people who don't understand a lot about computers."

And the printers appeal to self-described skeptics such as Broward County Commissioner Ben Graber, a doctor who said he doesn't trust computers. Graber said he's always wanted to make sure there was a paper trail to track votes in Broward County.

"I think the doubt [in the machines] is already there. I think we're just trying to make people feel more comfortable," Graber said. "The public is not stupid. The public knows about computers. ... Every day there's another virus, another worm, there's a probe on Mars that can't talk to you because the software's bad."

No cure-all

The association that represents the state's elections supervisors came out against the printers, saying that fears about touch- screen computers are unfounded and that printers aren't a panacea.

The paper printers could create a new round of questions and problems, including how to print non-English ballots, provisions for visually impaired voters who want to double-check their ballots and what happens when there is a paper jam, Browning said. He said politicians lobbying for the printers are stirring up voter distrust of the touch-screen machines.

"My biggest concern about this whole thing is that I believe that the general public ... has confidence in their voting system," Browning said. "They will have confidence in their voting system until someone comes along and says, `You can't trust them.' ... And then all of the sudden, I'm that voter out there going, `You know what? That must be right.' It just gets so very frustrating, because I believe our position is right. But they believe their position is right."

Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Theresa LePore said she doubts the machines could be ready by November, as many politicians want, and doesn't want to see the county rush into using them should they be available.

"We need to go one step at a time and make sure, because there could be more problems down the road," LePore said.

Another problem for printers used in Florida: There is no federal standard yet for their certification. And the printers can't be used by anyone, anywhere, until they are certified.

Becky Vollmer, a spokeswoman with Omaha, Neb.-based Election Systems & Software, said her company is awaiting creation of those federal standards before taking their printer prototype to certification. The company's iVotronic touch-screen machines are used in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Confidence

Alfie Charles, vice president for development for Sequoia Voting Systems, supplier of Palm Beach County's voting systems, said he expects the company's machines to be ready to be certified by March.

Officials from both companies say they are certain their machines are secure and accurate, and that the printers are simply a response to customer demands.

"We're here to kind of respond to the needs of both voters and election administrators ... to provide the equipment that they ask for," Vollmer said.

At least one voter thinks the printers aren't needed. Beatrice Perkins, 78, said she thinks people would be more confident with the machines if they asked for help. "People make mistakes, and they're too proud to ask," said Perkins, who splits her time between Greenacres and Massachusetts. "I think [the printers are] one of these items that's not necessary at all."

Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@sun-sentinel.com