EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Linda H. Lamone
Organization : | Maryland State Board of Elections
Post Date : | 9/30/2005
General Comments
Comment : | This last point is most applicable to the topic of voting system verification. In my opinion the verification debate seems to be informed by several questionable assumptions. For example: -There is an assumption that electronic voting technology cannot be secure against fraud or attack without an additional verification process. However, Maryland has been using its DRE voting system since 2002 without a single incident of attack, fraud, or lost data. -There is also an assumption that a paper trail will provide a meaningful method for voter verification. However, this is not the case if the voters don’t actually verify the paper ballot, or the process of verification is too difficult for the average voter to accomplish. -Finally, there is an assumption that the voting public lacks confidence in electronic voting technology and therefore additional verification processes must be employed. [Statements submitted at EAC public hearing, July 28, 2005, Pasadena]