Ohio 'paper' vote system debuting with flaws, researchers say

The new voting system that Cleveland and its suburbs will use in tomorrow's primary election has serious flaws that risk greater voter error, say members of a research team from the Universities of Maryland, Rochester and Michigan who conducted a comprehensive analysis of the technology over the past several years.

Cuyahoga County -- which encompasses Cleveland -- will retire its touch screen voting machines on March 4 in favor of a paper/optical scan system. The ballots will be counted at a central location.

One of the potential problems is that voters will not get a chance to run their ballots through a scanner before handing them in -- a step available in some other jurisdictions with optical scan systems, say the researchers. This scan provides an important opportunity for voters to catch mistakes.

"This is not an auspicious debut," says University of Maryland political scientist Paul Herrnson who led the research team. "Voters will go to the polls Tuesday without a safety net. They should be very careful to avoid stray marks and to review their ballots closely. If they want to make changes, they ask for a new form instead of erasing. Colorado dropped this particular configuration of the paper/optical scan machines because it eliminates this important accuracy check."

The ballots are computer forms similar to those used in standardized tests, in which voters register their choices by filling in small ovals with a pencil.

Herrnson and the research team of political and computer scientists conducted an extensive comparison of the usability of several electronic voting and verification systems. The study is the most comprehensive of its kind, relying on data from field tests with more than 1,500 subjects, laboratory tests and expert reviews. The results and recommendations are reported in the January 2008 book, "Voting Technology: The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot," published by the Brookings Institution.

Among the research findings on the paper ballot/optical scan system: users sometimes "overvote" -- select too many candidates in a single race, disqualifying the vote. Erasures or stray marks may be read by the computer as overvotes.

"The worst mistake of all is accidentally voting for the competitor in the race," Herrnson says. "In effect, that's two votes against your own candidate. With central count optical scan there's no review screen to help a voter catch such an error."

When voters finish with the ballots, they put them in a collection box in the precinct. Then, the ballots are taken to a central location for scanning and tallying.

This central count approach poses potential security problems, Herrnson adds, pointing to numerous examples of U.S. election fraud involving paper ballots.

"It's ironic that Cuyahoga County is replacing touch screen machines with paper ballots," says research team member Richard Niemi, a University of Rochester political scientist. "Based on our research, I'm convinced that the right kind of touch screen machine could be better than paper."

"The very act of changing the machines can cause problems," says research team member Michael Hanmer, a University of Maryland political scientist. "Both voters and election officials will be on unfamiliar ground Tuesday. Everyone needs to stay on their toes."

Source: University of Maryland

Related stories:

Voters respond favorably to touch screen voting equipment
Voters have more confidence in paperless, touch screen systems to record their votes accurately than they do any other systems, including ones that use paper ballots, a new study says.
Study tests impact of terror warnings on presidential race
Presidential candidates who play up the threat of terrorism to bolster votes may want to rethink their game plan. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, indicates the war on terror has less impact on presidential popularity than it did during President Bush's first term.
Voters confused by e-voting technologies
A study led by the University of Maryland suggested that electronic U.S. voting technologies are efficient but too many voters ask for help too often.
Voter I.D. requirements reduce political participation, study finds
A new Brown University study reports that U.S. states that require voters to present identification before casting ballots have lower levels of political participation. The research also indicates that voter I.D. policies discourage legal immigrants from becoming citizens, particularly for blacks and Hispanics, reducing odds of naturalization by more than 15 percent.
Human factors researchers test voting systems for seniors
Human factors researchers at Florida State University have identified ways to improve electronic voting accuracy among older voters while also shortening waiting time at the polls. The results of their study were published in the fall 2007 issue of Ergonomics in Design.
Review finds potential flaws in voting systems
Flaws that leave electronic voting machines vulnerable to security attacks were discovered by University of California researchers as part of an unprecedented "Top-to-Bottom Review" of the systems commissioned by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.
Cybersecurity expert says nationwide use of computerized voting poses risk
Many of the paperless computerized voting systems adopted in wake of the "hanging chad" presidential election controversy in 2000 have the potential to create more problems than they solve, according to an information security expert at Purdue University.
Political scientists examine the largest voting gaps in America
Recent studies of the 2004 election data by political scientists assess the role and impact of major sets of differences in the voting behavior of Americans--known in popular parlance as "voting gaps." Based on differences in support for George W. Bush and ranked in descending order, the studies confirm the largest voting gaps in the electorate were race and ethnicity, religion, class, region, gender, age, and education.

News discussion:

General Science news