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Here we are at the dawn of the 21st century, the height of the Information Age, mere months before a major election, and Americans still aren't sure that their votes will be recorded the way they cast them.
Much of the uncertainty involves the rapid conversion in the last decade from paper ballots to computer voting, or "e-voting," which promised to be faster, cheaper, and less subject to human error. But after a flurry of election scandals and machine breakdowns, more than half of the states now require voting systems that leave a paper trail in case a recount is needed. Apoplectic champions of e-voting argue that human error and poll-worker shortages pose bigger threats than technical glitches and crazed hackers. In the end, it all comes down to voter confidence. (According to blackboxvoting.org, an avowed enemy of e-voting, voters in Maine, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin can be most confident. Those in Pennsylvania and Texas, on the other hand, have the most to worry about.)
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) gave $3.9 billion to states in 2002 to help replace punch card and lever systems with optical-scanning or electronic (usually touch screen) systems. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, a flash point in the voting-machine controversy, spent $21 million to switch to touch screens in 2006. This year, it could spend up to $12 million to switch again, this time to optical scanners. Much of the country finds itself in the same predicament:
Do we have the right machines? Can we get the right machines in time for the next election? And do we even know for sure which machines are the most reliable?
When it comes to voting, America is still a nation divided. Thirty-three percent of us will vote on touch screens in November. Sixty percent will use paper ballots tabulated by optical scanners. But since the Holt bill-which would have reimbursed states for switching to paper-ballot voting systems-was recently defeated in Congress, Americans may find themselves doubting the democratic process once again. Protect your vote by confirming your voter registration; many states will be using centralized records for the first time. Better yet, volunteer as a poll worker. One of the few things e-voting fans and opponents agree on is that the best insurance for a fair election is an equal number of Democratic and Republican eyes watching the ballot box.
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