Sacramento, CA - Responding to a raft of reports detailing flaws in electronic voting systems, California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley today announced that he is requiring all electronic voting systems purchased by California counties to provide a paper printout to allow voters to verify their votes and auditors to verify election results.
The Secretary of State is responsible for certifying all voting machines used for elections within the state of California.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has urged election officials and legislators to require that electronic voting machines use publicly reviewed software and generate a paper record, which would allow voters to verify their votes as well as create a "paper trail" for potential recounts.
"Secretary of State Shelley has taken a courageous and important step in response to the growing public concern about the security of voting machines," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Paper audit trails are currently the best way to prevent anyone from bungling or stealing our elections."
"We hope that California can continue to lead the country and the world in implementing secure electronic voting standards," added EFF Activist Ren Bucholz.
"By requiring a voter verified paper trail, the Secretary of State has taken a critical step toward preserving the integrity of the voting process in the wake of new technologies that change the ways in which we vote," commented California Voter Foundation President Kim Alexander.
According to the California Voter Foundation, 9% of California counties used electronic voting systems in the October 2003 recall election, and 32-40% will likely use electronic voting systems in the upcoming March 2004 elections.
Cindy Cohn
Legal Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
cindy@eff.org
Ren Bucholz
Activist
Electronic Frontier Foundation
cindy@eff.org
Kim Alexander
President
California Voter Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/
The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting and applying the responsible use of technology to improve the democratic process. For more information about the California Voter Foundation, please visit http://www.calvoter.org
