06/21/05

Calls for the U.S. government to mandate a voter-verified paper trail with electronic voting machines ran into opposition today from two powerful members of a Senate committee, with one objecting that a printout would discriminate against blind people. ... Advocates of voter-verified paper trail ballots say they would allow voters to check a printout to see what happened inside the direct electronic recording machines (DRE). But Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) ... suggested that attaching printers to existing DREs could cause equipment problems on Election Day. ... 'It seems we're adding a level of complexity.' Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), the committee's ranking Democrat, objected because a paper-only verification system couldn't be used by the blind and some other people with disabilities." [editor's note: These are two of the lamest excuses I've heard yet! - SAT]

http://tinyurl.com/ahxoy

from Computerorld -- Hat Tip to Joe Dumas


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp