Bill Seeks to Fix E-voting Flaws 
    News Story by Grant Gross   ComputerWorld   14 February 2005

FEBRUARY 14, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - A group of U.S. lawmakers last week introduced a bill to require that electronic touch-screen voting machines allow a voter-verifiable paper trail.

The Voting Integrity and Verification Act would require printed ballots that voters could check after they use an electronic voting machine. The bill, introduced by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), would add clarifying language to the Help America Vote Act, passed by Congress in 2002.

Ensign, who counts four Democrats and three Republicans as co-sponsors of the bill, noted that Nevada required a voter-verified paper trail during the 2004 presidential election.

A voter-verified paper trail would allow voters to review a printout of their ballots and correct any errors before leaving the voting booth. The printout would stay at the polling place for use in any recounts.

Critics of e-voting have complained that voters using electronic touch screens can't know if their votes are being properly cast and that recounts can't be conducted without some kind of voter-verifiable paper trail.

November Glitches

In November's general election, problems with e-voting machines caused about 4,400 votes to be lost in one North Carolina county and gave President George Bush more than 3,800 extra votes in an Ohio county.

E-voting machine vendors have suggested that adding printers would raise the cost of machines. The printers could also jam or break, causing long lines at voting booths.

Some e-voting machine vendors have begun offering paper-trail printers. Nevada used machines from Sequoia Voting Systems, partly because the vendor offered paper-trail technology.