Computerized Voting
Julia H. Rahhal asks in her letter (Nov. 28) why paper ballots are used in California unlike voting machines common in many other states. Many California jurisdictions once used voting machines to conduct elections but these systems lost favor to paper-based alternatives. The reasons included cost savings, large numbers of candidates and measures which exceeded voting machine capacities, vote-by-mail usage requiring parallel processing systems and the lack of an effective audit trail to verify voter intent.
It’s time for California to move beyond the paper ballot to touch-screen, computerized voting. The voter would simply indicate choices by touching the screen. In order to provide an audit trail, the computer would produce a paper printout allowing the voter to verify choices. The printout would then be deposited in a “ballot box” for audit purposes. A pilot project in 1996 experimenting with the system would be a good way to prepare California’s elections for the 21st Century.
TONY MILLER
Acting Secretary of State
Sacramento
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