2008 Woodie Awards
Can't Count On E-Voting
Problems with technology may lead to election errors.
Chelsea Banks
Issue date: 10/27/04 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
If the tension caused by the outcome of the last election isn't enough, unreliable and controversial electronic voting machines will be used for this election.
Because the machines do not leave a paper trail, they are incapable of doing a recount
E-voting sounds like a good idea. That is until you realize that without the ability to recount, a situation similar to what happened in Florida in 2000 could throw the credibility of the entire election into the mud.
In a race where both candidates and their respective parties have been accused of being dishonest and unreliable and where projections are so close, there will most likely be a recount.
No matter who wins, electronic voting will only escalate the already imminent problem.
The machines, which failed in both testing and usage in the past, have their credibility currently being questioned.
The Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers University filed a lawsuit arguing the reliability of the machines Wednesday.
They claim the machines "have lost votes, had technical malfunctions during elections and have attributed votes cast for one candidate to an opponent."
Because the projections are so close, with both the Democratic and Republican sides claiming they're ahead, no matter which candidate wins, they will be accused of stealing the election.
Not to mention that the machines are placed where most of the election problems occurred in the past (Florida), as well as in other major swing states.
The few machines that could leave a paper trail had glitches. Some of the language was switched to Spanish. The flawed machines were still bought and put to use.
This issue could be a major cause of post-election chaos.
For now, we can't count on e-voting.
There are just too many glitches to be used to make a decision that will affect the next four years of our lives.
Because the machines do not leave a paper trail, they are incapable of doing a recount
E-voting sounds like a good idea. That is until you realize that without the ability to recount, a situation similar to what happened in Florida in 2000 could throw the credibility of the entire election into the mud.
In a race where both candidates and their respective parties have been accused of being dishonest and unreliable and where projections are so close, there will most likely be a recount.
No matter who wins, electronic voting will only escalate the already imminent problem.
The machines, which failed in both testing and usage in the past, have their credibility currently being questioned.
The Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers University filed a lawsuit arguing the reliability of the machines Wednesday.
They claim the machines "have lost votes, had technical malfunctions during elections and have attributed votes cast for one candidate to an opponent."
Because the projections are so close, with both the Democratic and Republican sides claiming they're ahead, no matter which candidate wins, they will be accused of stealing the election.
Not to mention that the machines are placed where most of the election problems occurred in the past (Florida), as well as in other major swing states.
The few machines that could leave a paper trail had glitches. Some of the language was switched to Spanish. The flawed machines were still bought and put to use.
This issue could be a major cause of post-election chaos.
For now, we can't count on e-voting.
There are just too many glitches to be used to make a decision that will affect the next four years of our lives.
