Voters Prefer Take-Home 'ATM Style' Receipt to Prove Their Vote Was Counted Accurately
Wednesday November 10, 1:00 pm ET
Election Day Survey Asks Voters About Vote Verification Preferences

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ An Election Day poll shows that 81% of voters surveyed want to take home a private "ATM style" receipt to verify for themselves their vote was counted correctly. Given a choice between leaving a voter-verified paper ballot at the polling place versus taking home a private voter-verified receipt, 60% say they prefer the idea of take-home receipts and self-verification compared to 36% who say they prefer the idea of leaving a paper ballot with election officials.

 
The survey was conducted in Las Vegas, Nevada by Lombardo Consulting Group in conjunction with political science professor, Dr. Michael John Burton of Ohio University. Nevada was the only state to use "statewide" voter-verified paper ballot printers attached to electronic voting machines on Election Day.

"Many voters thought a private receipt that they could take home would be the best way to know if their vote was counted correctly," said Dr. Burton. "People are used to getting receipts from ATMs or gas stations and they liked the idea of getting a receipt from the voting booth."

During the election in Nevada, voters were instructed by poll workers to compare their vote ions on the electronic screen with what was printed on the voter verified paper ballot scroll. The paper ballot scrolls were retained by election officials for use in post-election audits or recounts. Based on the questions asked, voters understood the difference between a paper ballot and "ATM style" private receipt (i.e., a ballot is kept in the polling place, a receipt is something taken home).

The survey also examined voter interaction with Nevada's voter-verified paper ballot machines and found that only 31% of the voters actually compared the entire paper ballot to the machine ballot in order to ensure their vote was recorded accurately. If voters don't look at the voter-verified paper ballot it isn't voter verified.

About the Survey

Lombardo Consulting Group, LLC is a corporate and political public opinion research firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City. They conducted this survey in conjunction with Professor Michael John Burton of Ohio University and on behalf of The Curley Company and VoteHere Inc. 362 Las Vegas, Nevada voters were polled (the margin of error on this study is +/- 5.15% at the 95% level of confidence). Interviews were conducted at polling stations in Nevada on Election Day, November 2, 2004. The data was analyzed by Lombardo Consulting Group's Washington D.C. office.

Complete survey results can be found at http://www.lombardoconsultinggroup.com/docs/nvvotersurvey.pdf.

Dr. Michael Burton is a professor of political science at Ohio University. He has co-written two books on political campaign management: Campaign Craft: The Strategies, Tactics, and Art of Campaign Management (Praeger 2001) and Campaign Mode: Strategic Vision in Congressional Campaigns (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).