Reply #8: Paper ballots protect vote integrity

[Wilms]

Paper ballots protect vote integrity

December 6th, 2005

David Grant, News Assistant

The Libertarians at Virginia Tech brought Alex Blakemore of Virginia Verified Voting to illustrate the need for a paper trail when it comes to elections

From presidential polling in Ohio to voting for school board officials in Northern Virginia, electronic voting machines have proven controversial across party lines, adding 4,000 votes for George Bush in one Ohio district in 2004 and swinging North Carolina state senator Lewis Pate (R-Wayne) from a 1-percent loss to a 1-percent victory in 2002.

For Alex Blakemore, one of the co-founders of Virginia Verified Voting who spoke at the request of the College Libertarians last night in Squires, said instances such as these serve as painful illustrations both of the mis-votes that may have gone undetected as well as the need to ensure voter-verified paper audit trails.

“The advantages to these machines are that they are lightweight and portable … some of the future ones might even come with video games and designer colors … but that’s not why we have them. We have them to ensure the accuracy of elections, and at that they do a poor job,” Blakemore said.

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http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/1/ARTICLE/6231/2005-12-06.html?sid=8304830b4b218e6749c9ac17f6e6a051