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Commentary <http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/index.html> > The 
Monitor's View <http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/monitorView.html>
from the September 24, 2004 edition

E-Voting, With a Paper Trail
Nevada's Sept. 7 primary was the first official election in the US using 
touch-screen voting that also produced paper copies of individual votes. 
The system, called "Veri-Vote" by the California company that makes it, 
was deemed a rousing success.
                
                        
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Perhaps inadvertently, Nevada's success will help squash much of the 
controversy over the reliability of electronic voting machines. Though 
states are moving toward e-voting - approximately one-third of voters 
are expected to use such digital machines on Nov. 2 - many types of them 
still aren't error-free.

Too many show vulnerability to hacking or software glitches. A paper 
trail remains the best interim step as states make their glacial efforts 
to comply with Congress's 2002 Help America Vote Act (a result of 
Florida's ballot snafus in 2000).

The Veri-Vote system creates a paper record under glass that voters can 
check against their choices on the screen. The copies eventually drop 
into a lockbox, where they can be used later if a manual recount is 
needed. Extra printers were available on election day in case of a 
malfunction.

For ballot count accuracy, e-voting is better than many paper-based 
systems. In fact, some 32 million voters in 19 states still will use the 
less reliable punch cards on Nov. 2. And many of those will be used in 
states deemed hotly contested.

Florida has adopted paperless e-voting but Broward County - home to the 
most hanging chads in 2000 - isn't allowed to attach printers to its 
machines yet. In Maryland, a judge ruled that new touch-screen machines 
don't need paper records. E-voting machines in Delaware, Tennessee, and 
Kentucky also will be paperless.

As obvious as it may sound, the ability to properly record and count all 
votes must remain a priority for states. Even with the sad memory of 
Florida, too many have simply dragged their feet on this subject for too 
long. More should follow Nevada's example.