Ohio weighs electronic, punch voting [View All]

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Ohio weighs electronic, punch voting

http://tinyurl.com/43qcy

Monday, December 06, 2004

Julie Carr Smyth and Mark Naymik
Plain Dealer Reporters

Columbus

(snip)

Among the most worrisome electronic machine anomalies in the state was
an addition error in a Columbus-area precinct where votes are cast on
electronic machines made by Danaher Controls. That error gave 3,893
extra votes to Bush.

Also, electronic machines - celebrated for being more efficient than
punch cards - did little to prevent long lines in Columbus and other
parts of Franklin County, where some voters had to wait for several
hours on Election Day.

In Mahoning County, electronic machines built by another vendor,
Election Systems & Software, momentarily reported 25 million votes, or
more than twice the population of Ohio.

(snip)

The federal voter act requires that states conduct elections using
some form of electronic voting in 2006. Most Ohio counties plan to
introduce the machines in early 2005. That will give both poll workers
and voters time to adjust before the next major statewide election -
the 2006 governor's race.