Lawmakers unveil e-vote security bill

By Dion Nissenbaum

Mercury News Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - California's reliance on electronic-voting technology came under renewed scrutiny Thursday when two state lawmakers unveiled a measure to create new safeguards and a voting-rights group urged voters not to rely on touch-screen machines in next month's election.

``Democracy is too important to turn over completely to a machine,'' said state Sen. Ross Johnson, R-Irvine, who co-wrote the bill with Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, that would require paper records of every electronic vote cast.

While Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has already directed counties to ensure there is a paper trail on all machines by July 2006, Johnson's bill would force officials to take action by next January.

Both California and the nation have been working to revamp voting systems in the wake of the problems exposed during the 2000 presidential election, from hanging chads to butterfly ballots.

Some critics, however, worry that elections officials were too quick to embrace new electronic-voting machines that provide no paper printouts to verify results.

As counties install the new technology, elections officials have uncovered glitches that skewed results. During last fall's recall, Alameda County officials discovered that votes cast for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante were instead being awarded to a fringe candidate. Although the problem was corrected, it raised alarms.

``Our democracy works because people accept the results of elections,'' said Johnson. ``If you put that into question, it attacks the very foundation of a democratic society.''

The proposal was welcomed by voting-rights advocates.

``That's phenomenal,'' said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation and a proponent of a paper trail.

While the bill, if it becomes law, would help in future elections, Alexander said it would do nothing to address security questions looming over the March 2 election.

Because of the concerns, Alexander urged all voters to request absentee ballots by Tuesday instead of using electronic-voting machines.

More than 40 percent of the state's voters, including those in Alameda and Santa Clara, will use electronic-voting machines March 2.