F.C. Registrar Defends New Voting Machine Technology

By Debbie Taylor  in the Falls Church News-Press   26 August 2004

Recently, the News-Press ran Paul Krugman's op-ed piece titled "Saving the Vote". I disagree with most of what is said in that essay, and feel that it does not present a balanced analysis of the current election situation. The piece does make one important observation, however. The point it makes is that the American people no longer trust the validity of American elections.

Public attention is currently focused on the use of

Direct Recording Election Machines (DRE), commonly called "touch screen" voting machines. Contrary to popular belief, these machines are not "new" or "untried". The machines were first introduced in Montgomery Alabama in 1983, and have been used successfully in some Virginia localities since 1988. Also contrary to popular belief, it is impossible for hackers to violate these machines because the machine is never hooked to the internet or any outside computer. There are no entry doorways.

Critics of the DRE often complain that they leave no VVPT (Voter Verified Paper Trail). The basis of the concern is a fear that machine software is vulnerable to types of manipulation which would change the vote tally. A VVPT is proposed as a method by which each voter could guarantee that their vote was recorded as it was intended. The paper trail would then be available for use in a recount situation.

There are several problems involved with the VVPT, the most distasteful of which is a compromise of voter privacy. One absurd plan for VVPT implementation even proposes that the machine provide a written receipt to each voter certifying the votes the voter had cast. Imagine the possible effect of this on a voter with an abusive spouse, or a politically active boss. How long would it be before politicians started standing around polling places with stacks of $20.00 bills?

But even assuming that all written records remain inside the machine, the existence of a written record of votes that can be tied to a particular voter always increases the risk of loss of privacy. For example, a privacy loss would occur each time the printer jams on election day. The loss of ballot secrecy is a change fundamental to the very nature of American democracy. It should not be allowed to happen accidentally as a by-product of the resolution of another issue.

And what is the threat to free elections that this major sacrifice would resolve? I'm pretty sure no threat exists.

Safeguards against fraud are written into election law and procedure. In Virginia, only machines that pass the high certification standards of the State Board of Elections are allowed to be used. And the State Board won't even begin the certification process until the machine first meets Federal certification standards.

DRE's currently used in Virginia are already required to keep a random image of each ballot cast in the machine's memory. Following the election, these images could be printed in random order and manually tallied. This isn't exactly the same as a VVPT, but it serves the same purpose.

On the local level, machine programming is tested by the local Electoral Board prior to each election. The Board performs tests to determine if the machine tallies votes correctly. Election Officials, your friends and neighbors, make sure that the machine has no votes on it when the polls open, guard the machine throughout the day, seeing that only valid votes are cast, then shut the machine down, ascertain results, and lock the machine up when the polls close.

And therein lies, I believe, the key to restoring public trust in elections. More people need to get involved in the process. Nothing restores confidence like participation. Understanding the process from start to finish gives citizens a solid framework from which to propose change. Elections are kept honest and fair because of public scrutiny and involvement.

So, if you are lamenting the condition of the American electoral system, then join us and sign up as an election official. Because, literally, we're counting on you.