Who Gets to Count Your Vote?
Computerized and Internet Voting
Barbara Simons

Voting problems associated with the 2000 U.S. Presidential election have spurred calls for more accurate voting systems. Unfortunately, many of the new computerized voting systems being purchased today have major security and reliability problems.

Anyone who doubts the result of an election is now obliged to prove that those results are inaccurate. But paper ballots, the main evidence that would provide that proof, are being eliminated. Vendors and election officials are free to claim that elections have gone “smoothly,” when there is no way for a voter to ascertain whether the ballot cast was recorded or tabulated correctly by the voting system. Furthermore, the new equipment does not provide any way to perform an independent audit, so the idea of a recount is becoming meaningless.

We will discuss the technical, legal, and political issues relating to e-voting. We look forward to active audience participation relating to this very important issue.