Do Electronic Voting Machines Improve the Voting Process?

The electronic voting machine embraces an electronic means of efficiently casting a vote and electronic means of accurately counting votes. Electronic voting machines, can also display election results and because of controversies associated with their operation audit trail, information can also be obtained. There are many types of electronic voting systems: paper based electronic voting system; which provides a paper ballot to be marked by hand but counted electronically. Pressing buttons or using a touch screen can operate a direct recording electronic voting machine either mechanically or electrically. This machine stores the voting data in a memory bank as a printed copy, and can transmit results to a central location. A public network voting machine uses electronic ballots, which can be transmitted from the polling place to a central location as they are cast or as a batch throughout the election process. Electronic voting machines can be made fully accessible for persons with disabilities, allowing them the freedom to vote without experiencing any hardships. Because ballot tallies are done at the close of polling stations, many of the men and women are tired leaving much room for error. According to United States General Accounting Office (2004), testimony provided to various government agencies with a research report on electronic voting systems performance attributes. The report provides a summary on security, accuracy, and ease of use, efficiency and cost. Testimony was prepared for the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, Committee on Government Reform and House of Representatives to analyze direct electronic voting systems (DRE) performance and attributes.
“Based on it’s testing, the GAO obtained information that vendor of optical scan equipment reported accuracy rates of between 99 and 100 percent, with vendor of DREs reporting 100 percent accuracy with no security breaches”. (Hite, 2004, p. 27) Direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machine is essentially a computer, which utilizes touch-screen terminals to record votes. Some DRE systems also employ a memory card, compact disc or other memory device which votes are store on. Some direct recording electronic machines have the ability to transmit their results via the Internet.

The basic foundation of election integrity is total transparency. In elections, everything must be open to public view, including processes of handling and counting ballots. The only exception to this rule is, that each individual's voting choices remain hidden. Supporters of direct recording electronic voting machine say they are safe, reliable, easy to use, and able to analyze voting results faster, are accessible to handicap personnel, illiterate, and non-English speaking voters. Opponents of direct recording electronic voting machine say it gives too much power over public elections to the manufacturers. DRE’s are susceptible to hacking, do not allow for meaningful audits, recounts and do not offer voters a reliable way to authenticate their votes. Is DRE vulnerable to hacking? No, there is no telecommunications outlet, so there is no risk of hacking, or gaining unauthorized entry into the permanent storage medium such as a write-once memory card or the operating system. State election authorities generally do not transmit voting results via the Internet, but they may transmit them from a direct modem-to-modem telephone line connection. The downside to this approach more telephone transmission systems are increasingly being connected to the Internet therefore a DRE might be subject to attack via the Internet. Also, if encryption and verification are inadequate oh tabulations could be compromised. DRE is better equipped to help the disabled voter. With touchscreen technology, audio ballot and other adaptive devices, it makes it possible voter with a disability to cast an independent vote. “Very few of our members were able to vote privately, independently, despite Santa Clara County's supposed accessible touch screens” (Wilcox as cited in Ackerman, 2004). According to Ackerman (2004), “Among the criticisms provided by voters was poor sound quality, delayed response time and braille that was positioned so awkwardly it could be read upside down.” Voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs) are an important mechanism that supports transparency in electronic voting machines. Federal law requires voter verified paper audit trail or (VVPAT) for Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines. The ideal behind VVPAT is to allow voters to basically disregard the functionality of the computerized voting terminals and know that as long as the VVPAT matches their intent, their vote will be counted correctly. Voting systems connected to the Internet are subject to the threats of computer technology. However Voter Verified Paper Ballot (VVPB) provides an auditable way to assure voters that their ballots will be available to be counted. Without VVPB there is no way to independently audit the election results. Equipment failures, configurations and programming errors have resulted in costly election recalls and disputes that could have been prevented with VVPB.
Elections require independent verification so that all balloting choices have been recorded as intended and vote totals have been reliably and indisputably created from the same material examined by the voters. Retrieved from http://electionline.org
“Capturing the voter’s intent accurately. It is possible that sensors in touch screen devices can be knocked out of alignment by shock and vibration, which could misinterpret a voter's intent.” Retrieved from http://www.voicevote.org. For the most part, DRE touch screen machines have among the highest accuracy rates. DRE eliminates the uncertain marking of ballots that plagues paper ballots. It eliminates the possibility of making more selections than permissible, or fewer than the maximum number of permissible selections. Even a single paper trail retained by the voting authority would not have resolved this question since such a paper trail could suffer the same inaccuracy as the reported vote total. All voters deserve a foolproof voting system, accessible to all Americans, regardless of disability. Today the public has become comfortable to transactions of all sorts being conducted with the aid of computer technology quickly, accurately, reliably and transparently; Yet both traditional paper voting systems and the electronic systems that have recently been deployed, fail to utilize the best available methods and do not meet the required standards of security, accuracy, reliability and transparency. Outdated conceptions of the principles of voting, which real life has left behind and no longer reflect the reality of the electoral system, have blocked the modernization of guarantees of electoral integrity. It is unacceptable that voting, democracy's most fundamental act, be conducted with lower standards of security and transparency than the most ordinary commercial transactions. Retrieved from http://www.voicevote.org. The next President of the United States and Congress will determine issues from the Economy,

Unemployment, Health Care, and Education to Gay Rights. The country’s future suddenly comes down to selecting a simulated button on a touch screen. Is it accurate? Can it be trusted? Is that the correct candidate or issues? Over the years many changes have occurred, from small pieces of paper placed in a tiny box, to punch card, to computerized electronic systems of today. These newer electronic voting devices offer, legible large-screen displays, and the ability to quickly go back and change a particular candidate or ballot issue answer. They also print out a participation receipt. For speed, accuracy and tabulation of the vote totals, the electronic voting machine is a deferred method of voting accountability. Finally, I am a strong supporter of increasing number of electronic voting systems used in all type of elections. Direct record electronic voting systems can assist voters for the first time, especially those who have disabilities, are illiterate, or who can benefited by having alternative language access. “Electronic voting systems can be made reliable with a thorough combination of design, manufacture, certification, testing and demanding administrative and security controls.” (Hite, 2004, p. 34) Electronic voting systems must be used properly according to stated regulations. If this is done, then electronic systems are far more secure than any systems that employ physical ballots. Direct recording electronic voting systems (DREs) are the most versatile and user-friendly of any available voting system. Each machine can easily be automated to display ballots in different languages and can be made fully accessible for persons with disabilities. Optical scan, punch card and lever machines cannot easily accommodate different languages, and because punch-card and optical scan machines are paper systems, they are not fully accessible for the blind or visually impaired. Similarly, the mechanical nature of lever machines impedes accessibility for voters with limited mobility and strength. For these reasons, DREs are the best available voting systems at this time.