The Help America Vote Act was passed in 2002. It provides federal assistance to the states so that the problems that arose during the 2000 Presidential election would not recur. A major provision of the Act is to provide funds to the states so that they may modernize their voting equipment. In practice, this means replacing punch card and lever voting machines—but with what? The Act doesn't say. It leaves the decision to local officials.
Many state election officials, prompted by computing technology vendors, are considering the purchase of electronic voting systems, despite the fact that there currently exists no standard for a reliable electronic voting system. At the same time, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 (H.R. 2239, proposed in May 2003) is still working its way through Congress.
In this talk, I'll discuss the positions of the major players on this issue, identify what strike me as the most important points to consider, and leave you with pointers to further information, including how you can get involved.
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