A Vote for High Technology

Riverside County residents will take a leap into the electoral future Nov. 7 when they cast their votes on an electronic machine similar to a bank’s automated teller. The touch-screen machines have been installed in all 715 precincts at an estimated cost of $13 million. There are skeptics about voting without a paper ballot, but Registrar of Voters Mischelle Townsend says the devices have been extensively tested and found to be easy to use and secure against fraud.

State officials need to watch the Riverside experience carefully. If the setup works as expected, the Legislature should be prepared to offer funding to help other counties install the touch-screen system. It certainly seems cost-effective. Townsend estimates the county will save $600,000 in paper and printing costs.

There has been much talk about Internet voting, and some counties might hesitate making an investment in touch-screen machines that could be obsolete in an election or two. But that’s not likely.

Our guess is that Riverside voters will like the touch-screen system and be happy to be rid of the old punch cards. The time it takes to count the vote is expected to be cut by half. Barring unexpected problems, it’s possible that most of the state could be using touch-screen voting by 2002. Die-hards will still be able to vote the old-fashioned way by casting absentee ballots.