Shaking the tree: The problems with voting systems

Shaking the tree: The problems with voting systems
Reader thoughts on voting technology

Network World, 12/17/02

A few weeks ago, I relayed to you my experience in trying to vote. Many readers were astonished at the "prehistoric" methods used in my town to register voters and their ballots. They were particularly appalled by the archaic use of walkie-talkies to communicate between polling sites and town hall. Others, who had suffered through similar situations, empathized and thanked me for bringing the issue to light.

A network support specialist suggested I move to Volusia County, Fla. He guarantees I'd be greeted with a smile by poll workers as well as "20 miles of sandy beach."

Another techie from the great state of Florida says the newly computerized voting system there is great to a point. "After reading your voting tale, it occurred to me that the new machines here only solve certain problems - such as those of the infamous 'hanging chads' and enabling a much more rapid totaling of votes by district," he says. "[However], were someone somewhere to make a mistake, the paperwork the poll workers had would have been just as useless and confusing to them (and me) as it was for your poll workers and yourself."

He adds, "For all of the new technology the state has spent billions to implement, none of it would help me [if my name was not listed] on the sheets of 8 ½ x 11 paper in front of my friendly poll worker - the voting machines neither know nor care whether I am registered and the only access rights I have are the special activation keys that a poll worker must use on the machine before I can vote. I do not know if our local board of elections maintains a computerized database, but I certainly hope so. It would certainly aggravate me if I had to go through what you did just to perform a task that I consider both a right and a responsibility."

Readers commented that upgrading the systems is costly and that local governments don't have the resources to embark on such a mission. They added that, as with most government networks, a disaster has to occur before a change comes about.

An IT consultant writes: "The main issue facing us is whether or not new taxes will be in order to implement such systems and processes. I agree with the spirit of what you state, but you know as well as I do that it's always a matter of available funds."

Others say the biggest change that needs to happen in the system is to Web-enable all aspects of the voting process - from registration to casting votes. They said that you would bypass a lot of the hassles caused by having un-technical people running the polls. And people would have a chance to review their ballots before signing off on them.

Readers recommended a secure sign-on site that users could access from home or public kiosks set up at public libraries or the mall. By putting in a username and password combination, citizens could register to vote, change party affiliations and vote in all the elections. This would improve voter turnout tremendously, readers said.

A Chicago resident asks, "Why go to the polls at all? Why can't we register and vote online? It would make it a lot easier for us working class citizens who want to vote but sometimes cannot find the time." He adds that bringing voting to the home relieves a lot of the outside influences that cause low voter turnout, such as weather. "I did end up voting and I remember thinking to myself it really takes too long. The Web would be a much better solution for I could get a chance to change my vote before confirmation of my vote. Being a cynical Chicago area voter I have sometimes wondered if the hole I have punched is in fact the vote I want recorded?"

Some readers argue that putting too much technology into the mix would jeopardize the integrity of the voting procedure. "[Technology] doesn't solve everything," an IT worker states. "If all the technology were available as you suggested, without appropriate and expensive computer network security measures in place at all levels of the federal, state, and local governments, the data could easily be compromised with fictitious names. You could also be deleted, rather than lost, by employees who I am sure are being provided with excellent training and salary benefits."

Another reader adds, "Simply throwing technology at it won't solve that problem. There is no silver bullet that can "fix" procedural and process problems. A [computerized] voting system or registration system (which, by the way, must be a part of what you indicated) has its problems too… records can be manipulated or lost in computers."

A reader chiming in from Washington state says the government has to take the time to train poll workers and get them used to the technology. "Poll volunteers are often older folks who were not daily computer users in the jobs from which they have been retired for some time," he says. "Many of them find anything that looks like a computer terminal intimidating. To make sure available technology is actually effective, each polling place would need a few people who are familiar with the tools and can assist other poll workers with special cases. If at all possible, each poll worker should get some hands-on experience with the tools before Election Day. If workers aren't able to use the technology for any reason, it becomes an impediment instead of a tool."

Finally, a techie working in the elections arena says there has to be a healthy combination of old and new technologies. "At the completion of voting at a touch screen console, it should print out a summary that is examined by the voter and put into a ballot box. The computer ballot can be considered the vote, unless the election is contested. In a recount, the paper ballots can be recounted."

One of our Michigan readers wrote in to say that his state tackled the voter registration process a few years ago. As a result of their efforts poll workers are able to search a database to confirm registered voters. To see what Michigan has done to tidy up the voting process, visit http://www.merit.edu/michnet/mnn/1998-03/qvf.html .

What do you think? Should high-tech be injected into all the nation's voting systems? Or do you think that too much technology can be dangerous? Let me know at sgittlen@nww.com.

Error 404--Not Found

From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:

10.4.5 404 Not Found

Error 404--Not Found

From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:

10.4.5 404 Not Found

Error 404--Not Found

From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:

10.4.5 404 Not Found