State elections boss defends mandate for electronic voting machines

[Freddie Stubbs]

Alison Hawkes, Times Capital Bureau
03/02/2006

HARRISBURG -The state's highest ranking elections official characterized the need for paper records of votes from electronic voting machines "a solution in search of a problem."

Secretary of State Pedro Cortes has been under growing pressure by critics of electronic voting machines to mandate, or certify for use in Pennsylvania, voting machine systems that provide paper records of ballots cast electronically for the purposes of a recount, as 26 other states have done.

But questioned by several lawmakers this week at a House Appropriations hearing, Cortes said voter-verified, paper-audit trails, as they are known, could compromise voter privacy and create accessibility problems for disabled voters.

He also said lawmakers have given him no legal clarification on the use of a paper ballot backup in a recount.

more: http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16217634&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=6

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Interesing choice of words

a solution in saerch of a problem... could this have anyting to do wiht we really do not want to find a way to CLEAN elections?

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

2. Of Course They Don't Want Paper Ballots

That's the LAST thing they want. Oh....besides having verifiable source code, or any sort of oversight at all.

If there was some sort of a record, it would be that much more difficult to commit FRAUD, and FIX ELECTIONS.

This country is DEAD.

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. Who exactly are 'they?'

Keep in mind that PA's SoS was appointed by a Democratic governor.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

4. Then He's Just Stooopid I Guess

Appointed by a Democrat, but too naive to comprehend the problems with the e-voting system, with no verifiable codes or paper trail. He is even able to joke about it. Perhaps there is more to this SOS than meets the eye. Wonder if he knows Santorum.