| Q. | Wait, this system still uses touch screens and I only trust paper systems. Why should I trust a computer based system? |
| A. | This is, essentially, a paper based system. The computers, the DRE and Optical Scan, are used to produce the paper ballot and blind tally them. If the DRE and Optical Scan do not have equal counts when the polls close, a paper count must be conducted and the machines sequestered for auditing. |
| Q. | Two machines? Isn't this more expensive? |
| A. | Yes. It will probably be about twice as expensive. By creating a standard for the dimensions, thickness and requirements of the paper ballot, however, we open the market to better competition. Preferably, a municipality would purchase a DRE of one make and an Optical Scan of another. In addition, technology prices tend to decrease. What is a necessary premium today will not be as a large an expense in the near future. |
| Q. | Voting machines have had their glitches, but have never been proven to have been tampered with during an election. Why is this system needed? |
| A. | Auditing. Even with a code review prior to deployment, there is no possible way to validate the code on every electronic machine right before a vote. The mechanism that counts the votes is a black box. Therefore, a paper trail must be produced and two independant counts must verify the quick evening count. The SEC requires that all public corporations must comply new legislation and have independant auditing of their numbers and CFOs and CEOs accountable for the reporting. The requirement of a vote audit and accountability is no less important. |
| Q. | If paper systems are much more verifiable, why not go all paper? |
| A. | Electronics and computers allow for handicap and language accessibility and generally open up vote to more people. With very large municipalities, the final tally would not be available the night of the election without the use of computers. There is a need to comply with demand of the public for instant information. 2PV allows for a quick and verifiable vote. |
Two Pass Verification: Make Electronic Voting Work in a Less Secure Digital Age
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