Electronic voting systems face obstacles to adoption

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by Patrick Thibodeau

(IDG) -- The Florida presidential voting fiasco is turning into an opportunity for some big technology vendors to bring electronic voting systems to market. But election officials say a solution to the problems highlighted by last fall's election is much more than a point-and-click away, with major obstacles confronting such efforts.

Last Thursday, Microsoft, Dell and Unisys said they plan to develop electronic voting technology that would cover every aspect of the electoral process, including registration, identification, voting and tabulation. That followed IBM's confirmation last week that it's "actively discussing" the idea of developing similar systems.

Many election officials said they would like to retire the antiquated technology they now rely on, such as punch-card ballots and mechanical voting machines. However, budget considerations are a big issue.

New York City, for example, has estimated that it would cost $100 million to replace its lever-based voting machines with touchpad-equipped electronic systems, said Lee Daghlian, a spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections. "If money weren't an issue, New York City would have [made the change] a long time ago," he added.

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Legislation that would make federal funds available for election reforms such as the installation of new technology is starting to be filed in Congress, and hearings are expected to take place this year. But for now, much remains up in the air - forcing vendors and election officials alike to sit tight and wait.

Kevin Curry, a Unisys vice president, acknowledged that it, Microsoft and Dell won't be able to deploy any new electronic voting systems until they see what kind of election standards Congress and federal officials set. Those standards will determine what kinds of systems are actually possible, he said.

For example, one unknown is whether the use of smart cards by voters will be allowed. Until that and other open issues are sorted out, "it would be ridiculous to build something," Curry said.

Several election officials said they're looking at the upcoming changes and new voting technology efforts with wary eyes, partly because of security issues.

Julie Pearson, the auditor and elections supervisor for Pennington County, S.D., said she wants to see diversity in any new systems that are installed. Having a mix of electronic systems would help the electoral process by providing better security, she asserted. To be able to fix an election, Pearson said, someone would have to know "the details of every state law [and] of every system that's being used."

Any new electronic system needs to have an open technology architecture that lets it interoperate with other systems, said Deborah Phillips of the Voting Integrity Project, an Arlington, Va.-based group that studies voting rights and technology issues. "If all you're doing is plugging in new equipment, then all you're doing is changing the set of problems," Phillips said.

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Keep an eye on Dell
(The Industry Standard)
A better ballot
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The election and the Internet
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Microsoft
Dell
Unisys

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