Vote machines reliable, accurate without printers

GUEST OPINION, Glenda Hood

The eyes of the nation once again will be on Florida as the 2004 presidential election draws near. We showed the nation in the last election cycle that Florida is no longer haunted by the ghosts of 2000 — an election that launched the most ambitious voter reform effort in history.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Florida’s Legislature and supervisors of elections, Florida is widely recognized as a national leader in election reform. We now have the opportunity to build on the successes of 2002, when new technology helped Florida achieve secure and accurate elections for hundreds of elected officials and issues, gave voters with visual and other disabilities unprecedented access to and privacy at the polls and provided an easy-to-use voting system for our seniors.

It is incumbent on all of us to continue to strive to improve our voting systems and processes — and they will improve, particularly as technology continues to evolve.

But the public needs to know that the systems we have in place this year have passed extensive scrutiny, testing and certification. In the process of passing election reform measures, the Legislature was convinced, as I am today, that touch-screen machines are reliable and accurate and eliminate questions about voter intent.

Although it is clear that the Legislature intended for touch-screen voting to be a paperless system, some now argue that printers should be attached to touch-screen voting machines in the counties that use them. That companion technology does not currently exist.

The process of developing, testing and certifying new companion technology takes time. When flaws or problems are discovered in the certification process, the vendor is required to fix those problems and resubmit the technology for certification again. It is impossible to estimate how long that might take, since much of the process depends on the vendor.

It is extremely unlikely that the technology could be developed, tested, certified, mass produced, purchased, and attached to existing machines — and that poll workers could be retrained in their proper use — in time for the 2004 elections.

That doesn’t mean our election results will be in any doubt. To suggest that we cannot have a credible election without printers is simply not true.

That point of view reflects a lack of familiarity with the equipment and processes and the rigorous testing and certification to which it is subjected.

When technology becomes available to attach printers to touch-screen machines, the Legislature can then decide if it wants to replace a paperless system with one that produces a paper record.

In the meantime, Florida is well prepared for the series of elections to come.

Our proven track record shows that touch-screen machines produced and delivered accurate, secure and trustworthy elections in 2002, and we expect no less in 2004.

— Glenda Hood is Florida’s Secretary of State.