Verified voting for Virginia

Vivian Paige has been all over this. The "Verifiable Voting Coalition of Virginia," a seven member Coalition of citizens' groups, plans to to push for legislation in the 2007 Virginia G.A. that will require all voter machines to provide voter verified paper audit trails.

In an article which appeared in today's Richmond Times Dispatch, Jeremy Epstein, a co-founder of the coalition and a member of two legislative panels that studied the machines said:

"Every independent study of paperless electronic voting systems has shown that they are insecure; vulnerable to attack from insiders and outsiders; and preclude meaningful recounts or audits."

Epstein went on to say that the best approach would be to switch to optical-scan machines (which have paper trails). Locally, Chesterfield, and Hanover counties already have the optical-scan machines.

According to the RTD, the State Board of Elections has been reluctant to recommend paper audit devices until better technology evolves, because of cost.

Better technology? How hard can it be to setup a printer, or some sort of paper trail to have a hard copy of each vote cast that a voter can verify before leaving their polling station? The article went on to say:

"Lisa Wallmeyer, of the Division of Legislative Services, said there was a feeling that the state should wait before deciding whether to recommend adding printers or other technology."

Exactly what they're waiting for? I'm not sure. Hopefully though, this piece of legislation will pass, allowing voters to VERIFY (but not keep), a hard copy of their vote.