State Sets Standard for E-Voting 

By Kim Zetter 04:39 PM Jun. 15, 2004 PT

The California secretary of state on Tuesday released the first standards in the nation for a voter-verified paper trail for electronic voting machines, in an effort to restore voter confidence in the devices.

The standards (PDF) come six months after Secretary of State Kevin Shelley mandated that all new e-voting machines purchased in the state produce a paper trail by July 2005. 
  
 The mandate came in the wake of two reports by computer security experts that showed the machines were vulnerable to manipulation by insiders and to hacking by outsiders. And it comes a month and a half after Shelley decertified all current touch-screen machines in the state until counties can implement changes to secure the machines temporarily, or purchase machines that produce a paper trail.

"California is making sure that voters will be able to verify that their votes are being counted correctly," Shelley said in a statement. "I call upon (federal election officials) to follow my lead and establish nationwide testing and qualification standards for (paper-trail verified) systems as soon as possible."

Under the standards, the voter-verified paper trail would consist of a printout that voters could examine to confirm that the machine recorded their vote accurately. Voters wouldn't be able to touch the paper receipt or leave the polls with it. Instead, the paper record would likely roll behind a glass partition, allowing the voter to accept or reject the choices presented on the ballot. Voters would be able to discard inaccurate ballots and have correct ones transferred to a secure ballot box.

According to the standards, paper-trail systems would be designed so that disabled voters, including those who can't see, could cast ballots and verify their vote in private without assistance. For non-English speakers, the records would be printed in the voter's preferred language and English for election officials.

The electronic ballots would be considered the official record. The paper ballot would be used in the 1 percent manual recount that California requires to ensure accuracy. The paper ballot would also be used in a full manual recount. If a discrepancy exists between the electronic and paper record, the paper record would prevail as the official ballot.

California has been leading the way to secure e-voting machines, not only because it's the most populous state but also because 40 percent of all touch-screen machines used in the country are in California.

Nevada will be the first state to use a touch-screen system that produces a paper trail. The machine, manufactured by Sequoia Voting Systems, will be used in limited numbers during the state's primary and early voting in August and September. That is, if the machines pass testing. The printers failed in testing a couple of weeks ago.

There are currently no federal standards to test a machine that produces a paper trail. But it's possible that the Federal Election Commission, which has assumed oversight for certifying voting systems, will adopt the California standards for the nation.