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Paper Or Electronic: The Voting Dilemma
by Michael Martinez
Maryland lawmakers are still bent on equipping voting machines with printers that would produce paper records of ballots, despite being told by experts that it would be nearly impossible to install such devices before primary elections in September.
The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing Wednesday on a series of bills that would mandate paper trails. Chairman Sheila Hixon, the sponsor of one of the proposals, said paper records are necessary to verify results and satisfy voters who are demanding them.
But Mike Norris, a professor at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, who was commissioned by the State Board of Elections last year to test seven different printing devices, said none of them have worked efficiently. He noted that the installation of the equipment would be an even bigger risk because none of the devices, including a machine made by the embattled Ohio-based firm Diebold, had been used in U.S. elections.
"I don't see how it would be possible," he said.
Norris also refuted Hixon's assessment that voters are uncomfortable with existing voting procedures. He said he recently received the results of a study after the last general election that found that the majority of Maryland voters are not concerned with the current system.
Hixon said she would continue to press for paper trails despite the report. "It won't stop us from going forward," she said.
University of Maryland professor Paul Herrnson also was charged by state elections officials with evaluating the printing devices. He did not recommend any of them.
Herrnson agreed with Norris that concerns about e-voting security might be overblown. The problems with the 2000 presidential election in Florida were about usability, not security, he said.
An overflow crowd of supporters of e-voting verification systems at the hearing said otherwise. Linda Schade, the co-founder of the advocacy group TrueVoteMD, said paper receipts are necessary for audit and recount purposes.
She advocated the reintroduction of optical scanners to record votes. "It really isn't a backward technological step," she said of the machines.
Democratic Delegate Karen Montgomery, the author of one of the paper-record initiatives, said lawmakers should seriously consider optical scanners. She said that while tech advances have made new e-voting machines appealing, it would be safer to use a less sophisticated system.
"The future is not here yet," she said.
State Prosecutors Fight For Cell Privacy
State prosecutors have been busy pushing lawmakers to pass legislation that would regulate Internet sales of cellular telephone records.
Recent reports about online businesses that offer to sell customers' monthly phone records have prompted federal, state and local officials to launch investigations into the matter. But state officials also want to make sure federal legislation will not block their own efforts.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday. Last week, she filed a lawsuit against celltolls.com, datafind.org, First Source Information Specialists, locatecell.com and peoplesearchamerica.com -- companies that allegedly sold phone records online for more than $100 each. The complaint seeks civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation.
"This entire enterprise is an outrageous invasion of personal privacy that could put lives in danger," she said, in a statement. "The possibility of harm from this 'service' to victims of domestic violence and law enforcement is enormous."
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon became one of the first state officials to land a legal blow against the companies on Monday when he obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent First Data Solutions from selling the phone records of customers in Missouri. The court order also prohibits using the identities of cellular or traditional phone providers for any purpose and contacting such employees for any purpose other than accessing one's own information.
"Thanks to our aggressive action, a company that we believe has been illegally obtaining the private information of consumers will be prohibited from doing business in Missouri," Nixon said in a release. "This is a victory for the privacy concerns of Missouri citizens."
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist filed suit against First Data Solutions in Leon County District Court last week. Under the complaint, the defendants face fines of $10,000 per violation.
"This is beyond an outrage and a gross invasion of privacy," Crist said in a statement. "Citizens have a right to expect that their private, personal telephone records will not be used as a cash cow for a third party."
Alabama Governor Pulls Campaign Site
Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman took his re-election campaign site offline Monday after he realized it was still soliciting contributions when fundraising is not allowed under state election laws.
Siegelman's site allowed supporters to contribute money to his campaign via PayPal. Alabama election laws prohibit candidates from soliciting campaign contributions while the legislature is in session, unless the body is meeting within 120 days of an election. Candidates will be allowed to begin raising money again Feb. 6, four months before primary elections in June.
Siegelman's entire campaign site is currently inaccessible. His chief opponent in the Democratic primary, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, has kept her site online, but she posted a message telling her supporters that she will not accept money until next week.
Microsoft Settlement Aids Minnesota Schools
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday announced that his state's school districts would receive $55.2 million in vouchers from a $174.5 million settlement that alleged Microsoft was overcharging consumers in the state.
According to Pawlenty, the money will be used to buy new computer hardware and software for public schools beginning this week. The vouchers will be valid until January 2012.
"This money will allow them to update, and in many cases expand, their technology, which in turn will help students learn and achieve at higher levels," he said.
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