Electronic Voting: States must shore up public's confidence in it

12:02 AM CST on Sunday, March 7, 2004

In Texas, as in many other states, touchscreens are seen as the future of electronic voting. Indeed, some Texas counties – including Collin, Harris and Travis – use only touchscreens. But here's the rub: Some voters lack confidence in the machines. They're unsure whether the machines are accurate, and they're worried about the potential for fraud.

The last thing this country needs is another electoral fiasco of the kind that happened in Florida in 2000. Yet it could happen – and on a bigger scale because of the popularity of touchscreens, which studies show could be hacked to change election outcomes.

But that's not all. Some states have been slow to implement the Help America Vote Act, which President Bush signed in 2002 and which provides the states with nearly $4 billion to replace outdated voting equipment, establish statewide registration databases and provide provisional ballots so qualified voters won't be turned away.

Texas is "right in the middle of reform nationwide," said Doug Chapin of Electionline.org., co-author of a recent report about election systems. Although the state has developed provisional ballots and certifiable voter identifications, its database is incomplete, and it still is upgrading its voter machines, Mr. Chapin said.

The biggest potential problem is the touchscreens, which could make Florida's punch cards look like a minor irregularity. As Dallas County Registrar Bruce Sherbet said, "There's never been a case where it's been proved that [fraud] happened, but you have to address the issue of voter confidence." Hear, hear. To reduce the risk, Congress should require touchscreens to provide registrars with a paper record. And Texas should plug its few remaining holes. To do otherwise would be to undermine the credibility of the people's representatives.