NYT editorial: A Quick Fix for Electronic Voting -- Rep. Rush Holt's bill

[DeepModem Mom]

A Quick Fix for Electronic Voting
Published: January 16, 2008

When Americans go to the polls in November, many will likely have to cast their ballots on unreliable paperless electronic voting machines. If the election is close, the country could end up with a rerun of 2000’s bitterly contentious and mistrusted count. In an effort to avoid another such disaster, Representative Rush Holt, Democrat of New Jersey, plans to introduce a bill this week that would help address the weaknesses in electronic voting. Congress should pass it without delay....

***

As voters have learned about the problems with electronic voting, they have sensibly pressed their representatives to adopt laws requiring voter-verified paper records. Most states, including New York, Ohio and California have now done so. Mr. Holt’s bill would make money available on an expedited basis — in time for this year’s election — for jurisdictions that still have not.

In addition to money for upgrading to paper-based voting, the bill would provide funds to conduct audits of paper records. It rightly prods jurisdictions to adopt optical-scan voting, in which ballots are marked by hand, much like a standardized test, and then fed into a computer for tabulation. Optical scans are the most reliable, efficient and cost-effective technology available. The bill also allows jurisdictions to use the money to switch to simple paper ballots that are counted by hand.

Because the bill is opt-in — it does not force any jurisdiction to make changes — it has not drawn the entrenched opposition from local election officials that mandatory paper-record bills have met. The ultimate solution to the problem of electronic voting is a national law requiring voter-verified paper records, something Congress has been inexcusably slow in adopting. As a temporary measure, however, Mr. Holt’s legislation is a good step forward.

Time to upgrade voting machines before this year’s presidential election is short, but it is not yet too late. Congress should pass the Holt bill quickly. In the meantime, eligible states and localities should prepare to apply for the money and to put in place voting systems that voters can trust.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/opinion/16wed1.html?hp

[papau]

1. Holt has eliminated a Bev/GOP ally by making election boards "opt in" - Bev is left with

the paper only left -

This may pass.

But it will only be a well funded opt in approach - not a mandatory requirement.

I am sure Brad will find that enough reason to try to kill it via Bev's handouts on his blog.

[riqster]

2. Holt keeps missing it by an inch

"Because the bill is opt-in — it does not force any jurisdiction to make changes"

Means that the places that are the most fucked-up will remain so.

[MNDemNY]

3. How about we just take to the streets for a show of hands?