Coming Soon in the US: Paper Records to Back Up Electronic Voting Machines

Electronic voting machines have been the centre of controversy in US politics since their introduction - the controversy stemming primarily from the potential risk of result tampering and a lack of paper records. In response to these concerns, the Voting Integrity and Verification Act of 2005 (Act) has been introduced in the US Congress by way of a bill amending the Help America Vote Act of 2002. If enacted, the Act will require electronic voting machines to include a verifiable paper trail and have audit capability. In particular, the legislation would require States to allow the "voter to review an individual paper version of the voter's ballot before the voter's ballot is cast and counted." The ballot would become a paper record that would be preserved in case of a recount. Although not yet passed, it has been reported that the bill is supported by politicians from both major parties. For a copy of the bill, visit: http://www.politechbot.com/docs/voting.integrity.act.021005.pdf. Summary by: Sue Diaz