Voting for Better Voting

Sunday, March 28, 2004; Page B06

MARYLAND LEGISLATORS are moving to address a serious defect in the touch-screen voting machines that the state has been introducing over the last several elections. The problem, pointed out by experts studying the system, is that glitches in the machines' programming could be difficult to detect. Because votes are recorded electronically, some could be lost or perhaps credited to the wrong candidates. Were that to happen, election officials would have no separate record of how votes were cast no real way to conduct a solid recount or audit.

In December, Maryland Del. Karen S. Montgomery (D-Montgomery) drafted legislation to require voter-verified paper records. Voters would be allowed to correct errors they find on printouts of the votes they are about to cast. If the printout matches the voter's touch-screen decisions, the voter then would cast the electronic ballot, and the paper version would be stored for use in any recounts. Ms. Montgomery's measure also would require random checks of the paper records in 2 percent of election precincts against the computer records, to search for evidence of possible tampering. The technology exists and ought to be included in the voting system. A number of states, including California, have voted for requirements that would create paper trails.

The Maryland House bill and a state Senate version with a number of co-sponsors have been approved by their respective committees, with further action possible this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow in the Senate. Before Maryland proceeds to install its complete new system, legislators should insist on the fundamental safeguards called for in this legislation.