Paper Records and Electronic Audits: A Step Towards Regaining Voter Trust

• Main Authors: Mohammed Awad, Ernst L Leis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Danube-University Krems 2010-04-01
• Series: JeDEM - eJournal of eDemocracy & Open Government
• Subjects: US elections; Minnesota Senate race; paper ballots; E-voting; Direct Recording Electronic (DRE); Voter Verified Paper Records (VVPRs); electronic audits
• Online Access: http://www.jedem.org/article/view/12/18

The shortcomings of the voting systems used in the 2000 presidential election raised the awareness of the need to replace these systems. As a result, with the funds of Help America Vote Act (HAVA), many US states switched to Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting systems before the 2004 elections. Unfortunately these paperless voting machines were not as secure and efficient as state officials had hoped. Since their implementation, many studies have shown the threats of these systems and their flaws. While some data security experts tried to improve these voting systems, many discouraged their use and recommended more transparent methods.Although, several countries in Europe and around the world have successfully utilized E-voting, many US districts and states still don’t trust this technology and are returning to paper ballots. In this paper, we will propose a new system as a solution to the current problems. This approach combines the advantages of both paper ballots and Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting systems while avoiding the major flaws of these systems.