Change to elections act could impact area
July 05,2005
Zac Goldstein
New Bern Sun Journal Staff

Sometimes, a few key words can make all the difference. Election reform advocates are up in arms after the North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee decided June 23 to modify the Public Confidence in Elections Act.

The act originally required all voting systems to permit all voters to verify their votes on paper. After a change in wording, the act now requires voting equipment to only generate a paper ballot.

The change, election reform advocates say, is enormous.

"This is a travesty," said Joyce McCloy of the North Carolina Coalition For Verified Voting. "It's a mockery of the voters and it's extremely short-sighted."

Rebecca Mercuri, an electronic voting expert and a fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, added that the changes to the bill make independent auditing impossible. "This bill allows voting machines to print ballots internally after the fact," she said. "It is worse than having no bill at all because it validates inappropriate recordkeeping. It means nothing."

Lawmakers, however, hold a different view.

"The decision to change was based on the recommendations of a study committee," said Sen. Scott Thomas, D-Craven. He also indicated the state election board supported the change, citing fears of "fraud and intimidation" if voters were given paper receipts that could be shared with others.

Election reform has been in the spotlight in Craven County since November 2004, when errors led to votes being double-counted in the general election. Due to a system software glitch in the electronic voting machines, there were 11,283 more votes counted than the total votes cast in the presidential race.

"Mandating a paper record would have a great impact on us" said Tiffiney Miller, Craven County elections director. "Our machines would have to be fitted."

To offset the cost of upgrading and replacing voting machines, counties such as Craven likely would receive funding from state and federal sources if the act becomes law.

"We will be watching closely," Miller said.

The bill will be discussed further in committee before it is brought before the full Senate.