Contact: Christy Hicks of The Century Foundation, 212-452-7723 or hicks@tcf.org, or Daniel Seligson of electionline.org, 202-338-9320 or dseligson@electionline.org

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ Despite the questions that have dogged the voting system since Florida 2000, the great majority of Ohio's voters will use punch cards in Tuesday's primary election.

The findings are part of the recently-released Primary Education: Election Reform and the 2004 Presidential Race, a national look at election changes in key primary states as a result of the passage of the Help America Vote Act. It was produced jointly by electionline.org and The Century Foundation.

Early plans to do away with punch cards in time for the primary were stymied by concerns about their potential replacements, direct-recording electronic (DRE) computerized voting systems. Questions about the machines' security led both Democratic and Republican state legislators to try to block changes to the state's voting systems. While Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell continues to advocate the use of computerized voting systems, the legislature is considering a bill that would require voter- verified paper audit trails with paperless electronic voting systems.

Blackwell said this month that he would request $128 million from the state controlling board for electronic machines. If funding is available, the state reports that 26 Ohio counties have indicated they will attempt to switch to electronic machines in time for the November vote. Another 15 will make the switch during 2005.

If Blackwell's request is denied, he may propose the entire state switch to paper-based optical scanner systems.

Changes to elections have been made nationwide in the wake of the passage of the Help America Vote Act. The bill's central component, a $3.86 billion authorization to states to pay for new voting machines, voter registration databases and other election needs, is accompanied by federal election mandates.

That includes: provisional voting ballots for voters who believe they are registered but whose names are not on registration rolls; voter identification requirements for first- time voters who register by mail and do not include verification with their registration applications; and new machine standards and/or voter education programs to reduce spoiled or uncountable ballots.

"For many in Ohio, this could be the last time they vote on punch cards, though I imagine some might be surprised they are still doing so considering all of the attention that has been given to the problems found with that system," said Dan Seligson, editor of electionline.org and co-author of the report. "

"Ohio was already sued once because of its use of punch card machines in the 2000 election," added Tova Wang, senior program officer and democracy fellow at The Century Foundation and co- author of the report. "Moreover, some jurisdictions in Ohio are using punch cards while others are using more accurate technology. Will that lead to the kind of lawsuit filed in California during the 2003 recall election, alleging a violation of the Equal Protection Clause?"

Primary Education explores the changes to voting procedures and potential for voting problems in the 22 early primary states that will be the key battlegrounds as the Democratic contenders seek to secure their party's presidential nomination. The report examines the impact of past and possible future litigation; controversies over new voting machines, electronic voting, and voter-verified audit trails; the effect of new mandates in states, including voter identification and provisional voting; and the ramifications of California's gubernatorial recall election, during which a federal court considered delaying the vote because of continued punch-card machine usage around the state. The report also offers examples of misconceptions about election reform.

The entire "Primary Education" report is available at: http://www.electionline.org/site/docs/pdf/Primary%20Education.PDF.

To receive a copy of Primary Education: Election Reform and the 2004 Presidential Race by mail, email your mailing address to media@electionline.org.