State voting technology is finally catching up

Roy Saltman, the election technology guru who urged states to give up on antiquated voting equipment like punch cards in 1975, once wrote that, "elections should be treated like any routine financial transaction."

These turned out to be prophetic words for Snohomish county voters, who will now be the first in Washington state to use the new touch-screen voting system to submit their ballots this fall. The voting equipment, which bears a striking resemblance to an ATM machine, will reportedly help the county save more than $300,000 a year on printing costs. And, after the voting controversies surrounding the 2000 presidential race, local voters should feel secure that their vote will count as soon as they make it, without fear of errors and fraud.

Hopefully, the rest of the state will be quick to follow suit. There are plenty of disadvantages to punch card and optic scan ballots, which are susceptible to damage. The voting process can be complicated by their poor design and unclear instructions, and by the inattention of voters themselves.

Americans should recall the fiasco involving the "butterfly" ballots in Palm Beach county where voters simply punched out the chad for the wrong candidate. With a touch-screen system of voting, a built-in safeguard ensures that these "overvotes" would not be committed.

Even the newsroom stands to benefit from the new system of electronic voting: Now that votes can be tabulated faster than ever before, election results can be published and made available to the public in a more timely and accurate manner. It is also expected that much of the $5 million cost of the machines will be offset by federal money once legislation mandates computerized voting.

This is not to say that the new technology is a good substitute for good election policies — or good common sense, for that matter. Fortunately, Washington state’s rigorously trained and certified election officials saved us from Florida’s embarrassment while they tallied the votes for our close Senate race in 2000. While Florida officials mused over their illegible ballots, our officials were required to examine ballots before they were counted to clear up any vagaries. We’re also lucky enough to have a detailed voting procedures manual that is followed statewide, in contrast to Florida’s policy of allowing 67 different county election supervisors to run the elections in their counties.

And now, with the new voting equipment in Snohomish County, we are taking the next step in making the election process even better than before.

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