Opinion: Help America secure the voting process

Thursday, December 14, 2006
New Jersey

http://tinyurl.com/yhdxmf

Six years ago, the nation was caught up in an election cliffhanger that left us in doubt about who would be our next president. The 2000 election added the words "hanging chad" to our lexicon and brought to our attention the problems of accurately recording and counting votes and the critical need to be able to verify election re sults. Congress responded by passing the Help America Vote Act in 2002.

This act put pressure on counties across the country to modernize their voting systems and get rid of old-fashioned punch cards and lever machines. As a result, many counties spent million of dollars on high-tech electronic voting machines that later turned out to be wanting.

In 2003, Mercer County selected Sequoia Voting Systems to provide 600 AVC Advantage electronic voting machines to the county at a cost of nearly $4 million. Other counties quickly made the switch to electronic voting machines. For the most part, the machines worked well, but they had one big drawback: They did not have a paper backup system that would allow elections officials to verify voting results.

Once again a change was mandated, this time by the New Jersey Legislature, which required that by 2008 all of the state's electronic voting machines be equipped with devices to produce a paper record of votes cast.

What is lacking is a viable national standard to ensure that voting machines used in New Jersey or California or anywhere in the United States are dependable and the results can be verified. It is here that Congress must take the lead. U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell Township, has long been a proponent of legislation to require that all electronic voting machines be outfitted with paper trails. His proposal is a step in the right direction. With new leadership in Congress, the expectation is that his bill will pass in the House, where it has bipartisan support. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., plans to introduce similar legislation in the Senate in January.

Across the country, county officials are keeping a close eye on what happens in Washington. They probably feel like chess pieces being moved by players in the nation's capital and in state capitals. Their biggest worry is who will pay for the changes forced upon them.

Rep. Holt's bill earmarks only $150 million to help counties upgrade their voting systems. This is a paltry amount when we consider the costs some states face. Maryland, for example, is considering replacing its 4-year-old touch-screen machines with paper optical scanners for an estimated $20 million. Last year, New Mexico spent $14 million to replace its touch screens.

The inviolacy of the voting booth must be maintained. The use of verifiable paper trails is one way to ensure elections are fair and accurate. Congress should be encouraged to make that happen and Congress should be encouraged to fully fund the change.