E-voting ill-advised solution to overseas ballot problem

Secretary of State Matt Blunt's office is exploring whether soldiers serving overseas can e-mail ballots for the general election. The office is awaiting a decision from the Department of Defense.

A complaint from Jim Avery, a Republican state representative and a combat engineer with the National Guard's 1140th Engineering Battalion, sparked the exploration. None of the soldiers in his squad received their absentee ballots in time to vote in last week's primary.

The reason, at least for some of the soldiers, to get their ballots late was uncertainty over whether Amendment 2 would be on the ballot, delaying the mailing of the ballots from St. Francois County for a week. That irregularity is not a reason to introduce e-voting.

Greene County Clerk Richard Struckhoff said his office puts a high priority on overseas and military ballots.

"We want to make sure that people who are defending our country have every opportunity to vote," he said.

Every county clerk should feel the same way. But e-voting is not the answer. There is no way to be certain a specific vote came from a specific voter. The temptation for hackers would be great. It risks fraud.

Elections are too important to introduce a new method for casting ballots that is not 100 percent secure.