Colorado Daily 12/4: Group pitches virtues of ballots

[Doug Grinbergs <saule@xxxxxxxxx>]

<http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2003/12/04/news/news04.txt>
Group pitches virtues of ballots
By RICHARD VALENTY 
Colorado Daily Staff Writer

In the distant future, say 2004, many voters nationwide will be able to cast their election ballots on touch-screen machines. One problem from the 2000 Florida election debacle, the infamous "hanging chad," will be eliminated as punch-card systems are phased out.

American citizens are also becoming aware of potential problems with touch-screen voting systems, referred to as Direct Record Electronic (DRE) systems, and that awareness is raising questions - for example, after casting a ballot on a touch screen, how do voters know that a computer recorded their decisions accurately? How can a recount be conducted?

Citizens for Verifiable Voting (CVV), an informal group of Boulder-area residents, is concerned with a number of issues pertaining to DRE voting. To make a long story short, Joe Pezzillo, CVV spokesperson, believes DRE's shouldn't be used at all in the 2004 election.

"Our group is calling for a delay so that in 2004, we use paper ballots. This is a system that everyone is familiar with, it's not extremely expensive, it can be managed just like the mail-ballot election in 2003, and it's legal," said Pezzillo.

Boulder County has assembled a Voter Equipment Review Committee that has narrowed the search down to systems from four DRE vendors. Linda Salas, Boulder County clerk, will make a recommendation on a finalist to the Boulder County Commissioners at a public hearing in January, and the Commissioners could vote to purchase a system at that hearing.

On Thursday, CVV will give a presentation to the Boulder County Board of Commissioners in a public meeting at the Boulder County Courthouse, 2040 14th St., third floor at 10:30 a.m. According to Pezzillo, the group wants its message to reach the Commissioners before a purchase is made.

"We're trying to get in front of them before they make their decision," said Pezzillo. "We're hoping for a large turnout of people who are concerned about the issue, so we can show the Commissioners the breadth of citizen concern in Boulder County."

The 2004 election process could illustrate the difficulty involved in standardizing equipment throughout the country.

In 2002, President Bush signed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which in part requires counties to abandon punch-card voting systems before the 2004 election.

Boulder County used a punch-card system in the 2002 election, which would have been replaced anyway due to mechanical problems with the 28-year old system.

The decision on a replacement system could be quite difficult. According to Tom Halicki, Boulder County elections manager, there is a cost issue involved, especially since there are 228 precincts in the county.

"Let's say we buy an optical scan system from 'company A. We could do the scanning and counting at the precinct, or a voter could go to a precinct, fill out an optical scan card, drop it in a ballot box, and it would go to a central location with a larger optical scan counter," said Halicki. "If we use a centralized system, we'd pay more per machine, but buy less of them."

Information on the Boulder County Web site, www.co.boulder.co.us, shows that the county could have at least one DRE available at every precinct to meet the requirements of HAVA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), since a DRE can allow for unassisted voting by people with disabilities.

However, section 301-3-B of HAVA states that a precinct shall have "at least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities at each polling place."

Pezzillo believes that this is another reason why Boulder County should delay its purchasing decision.

"Imagine that the touch screen system could also print out a paper ballot. What's wrong with that? These devices are in development. The disabled voter has no way of knowing that the bits recorded in the computer (by a DRE) are correct, nor does any other voter," said Pezzillo.

Also, Pezzillo emphasizes that National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has not yet completed standards for DRE systems.

"NIST has stated that they will not have the standards ready until sometime in 2005," said Pezzillo. "The county cannot today purchase a system complying with NIST standards because the standards don't exist."

According to Halicki, the finalist DRE vendors have all agreed to provide necessary upgrades to systems as standards are codified.

"The request for proposal we sent to vendors says any vendor we select has to adhere to whatever standards are developed, and asks them whether they can do that," said Halicki. "My understanding is that every vendor said they will meet those requirements."

Also, Halicki notes that the growing number of absentee voters, who won't be able to vote at a precinct, ensures that there will be paper ballots entered into an optical scanner in the 2004 election.

"There will be some paper component in the system we choose, unquestionably," said Halicki.

Pezzillo noted that Boulder County leased its election system for the 2003 election, and that it might be wiser to lease again in 2004.

"They could defer a purchase until standards are set, which seems to me like a prudent course of action," said Pezzillo.