I don't have much to add to the debate at this point, having blogged about the subject of kiosk-based electronic voting a
number of
times, but there has been much in the press lately about different states and counties banning their use despite the hoopla the federal government has made about using them extensively by the upcoming 2004 presidential elections. Some articles from around the web:
Kiosks.org brings us
this article about Kevin Shelley, California's secretary of state, and his trials and tribulations with electronic voting machines.
Kiosk Marketplace has
an article about the re-introduction of the technology into certain Santa Clara voting districts. A
local California paper has
this article about the state mandate saying that electronic voting installations must be in place by the end of this year. Meanwhile, the
Associated Press and
others are
reporting about a new federal request for tougher electronic voting regulations, and availablilty of paper back-up forms at all electronic polling places for this fall's elections. Indeed, even technocrati liberal political timebomb
Howard Dean has written
this piece about the shortcomings of electronic voting systems. But I think that
USA Today has the
best take on things: While e-voting certainly could solve a number of problems and add a new layer of accountability and efficiency to a still terribly manual process, its current shortcomings still outweigh its advantages. I agree, but I'm looking forward to the right combination of improvements in process and design (whatever those may be) that fix the current problems with the polling system.