oracle
07-16-2001, 11:55 PM
Study Finds Millions of Votes Lost (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5117-2001Jul16.html)
Universities Urge Better Technology, Ballot Procedures
By Guy Gugliotta
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 17, 2001; Page A01
Between 4 million and 6 million Americans either failed to cast votes or had their votes invalidated in last year's presidential election because of faulty equipment, mismarked ballots, polling place failures and foul-ups with registration or absentee voting, a study by two leading universities reported yesterday.
The study recommended that election boards get rid of punch cards and lever machines, curb absentee voting, institute registration reforms and discard any consideration of Internet voting for the foreseeable future. It urged the federal government to help fund equipment upgrades, to create a new agency to set up election technology standards and to conduct research into improved electronic voting systems.
"The main conclusion is that there has been precious little study of these issues and precious few resources" applied to resolve them, said California Institute of Technology President David Baltimore. "The voting process has previously simply not been taken seriously."
The Voting Technology Project report, by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been eagerly anticipated by both elected officials and other would-be reformers as a nonpartisan and carefully researched scientific study of the mechanics -- and not the politics -- of holding an election.
The report said that in presidential elections, punch card ballots, like those that caused last year's Florida debacle -- have an error rate of 2.5 percent, the worst of any method used. Lever machines, while maintaining a relatively low rate of error for presidential voting -- 1.5 percent -- were the worst performers when voters cast ballots for lower offices. The incidence of invalidated ballots rose to 7.6 percent for governor or senator.
But while the university recommendations received a generally warm reception, several officials and organizations expressed reservations about the report's emphasis on technology and its promotion of a federal role in a process that traditionally has been controlled by state and local governments.
...
Click here to read more (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5117-2001Jul16.html)
Universities Urge Better Technology, Ballot Procedures
By Guy Gugliotta
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 17, 2001; Page A01
Between 4 million and 6 million Americans either failed to cast votes or had their votes invalidated in last year's presidential election because of faulty equipment, mismarked ballots, polling place failures and foul-ups with registration or absentee voting, a study by two leading universities reported yesterday.
The study recommended that election boards get rid of punch cards and lever machines, curb absentee voting, institute registration reforms and discard any consideration of Internet voting for the foreseeable future. It urged the federal government to help fund equipment upgrades, to create a new agency to set up election technology standards and to conduct research into improved electronic voting systems.
"The main conclusion is that there has been precious little study of these issues and precious few resources" applied to resolve them, said California Institute of Technology President David Baltimore. "The voting process has previously simply not been taken seriously."
The Voting Technology Project report, by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been eagerly anticipated by both elected officials and other would-be reformers as a nonpartisan and carefully researched scientific study of the mechanics -- and not the politics -- of holding an election.
The report said that in presidential elections, punch card ballots, like those that caused last year's Florida debacle -- have an error rate of 2.5 percent, the worst of any method used. Lever machines, while maintaining a relatively low rate of error for presidential voting -- 1.5 percent -- were the worst performers when voters cast ballots for lower offices. The incidence of invalidated ballots rose to 7.6 percent for governor or senator.
But while the university recommendations received a generally warm reception, several officials and organizations expressed reservations about the report's emphasis on technology and its promotion of a federal role in a process that traditionally has been controlled by state and local governments.
...
Click here to read more (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5117-2001Jul16.html)