I recently wrote a paper for a class about electronic voting, and I learned some interesting things. For example, in Fairfax County, VA, in 2003, a programming error in the electronic voting machines caused them to mysteriously subtract 100 votes from one particular candidate’s totals. Also, in San Bernardino County, CA in 2001, a programming error caused the computer to look for votes in the wrong portion of the ballot in 33 local elections, which meant that no votes registered on those ballots for that election. Furthermore, in Volusia County, FL in 2000, an electronic voting machine gave Al Gore a final vote count of negative 16,022 votes. Finally, the 2003 election in Boone County, IA, had the electronic vote-counting equipment showing that more than 140,000 votes had been cast in the Nov. 4 municipal elections. The county has only 50,000 residents and less than half of them were eligible to vote in this election.

The largest problem of electronic voting is that it is not auditable because it does not involve a paper ballot. In the event of a recount, the state or national Board of Elections (depending on the type of office the election is concerning) will not be able to conduct a full count of all voter-verified paper ballots in public view, because these ballots will not exist. They will be lost in the technological realm. We will have no way of ensuring that our election is accurate, and we have elected the individual who is taking office.

It is necessary to audit an election so that the public can be certain that the voting technology is accurate. In other fields, computer systems are routinely audited on a continuous basis, either proving that the systems are accurate, or identifying the inaccuracies that need corrected. The audit is important because it allows for the discovery of mistakes in our voting machines, thereby improving the machines for future elections. Furthermore, if the audit proves the machines are working properly, it provides peace-of-mind that one’s votes have been appropriately counted. This is where another benefit comes into play. Paper ballots allow for peace-of-mind regarding election viability.