Trust of electorate is worth the wait

Electronic voting machines really are the way to go.
The Advertiser-Tribune supported Ohio's moving toward their use right after the furor caused by the 2000 presidential election.

However, enough concerns have been raised about the security of votes - even though the electronic machines have been used without trouble in some Ohio locales - that restraint is prudent.

State officials have recommended that - beginning with the 2006 elections - voters receive a paper receipt confirming their votes.

The process of boards of elections obtaining electronic machines would be adjusted so that the receipt requirement could be included.

When the machines are in place, voters would:

* Be able to vote by the touch-screen electronic method.

* Known that the machines would generate a paper tally as a backup in case precinct results needed to be checked.

* Receive a paper receipt showing that their votes had been recorded correctly.

This process may take a couple of years longer, but security and accuracy questions would be addressed.

Voter trust in the new methods will be worth the wait.