THIS IS AMERICA - Debate Over Electronic Voting

THIS IS AMERICA - Debate Over Electronic Voting
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, July 05, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Gwen Outen.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Doug Johnson. Our subject this week is the debate about electronic voting.

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VOICE ONE:

The presidential election of two-thousand was one of the closest in American history. But, as closely divided as the nation was, the experience united people in a common belief. The election system needed reform.

Efforts to do so have centered on technology. By this November, an estimated one in three voters will use an electronic voting machine. But many people worry that the election could be a repeat of two-thousand.

VOICE TWO:

Because of a dispute in Florida, the winner was not declared for thirty-six days. Florida counted almost six-million votes on Election Day. The Democratic Party candidate was Vice² President Al Gore³. The Republican nominee⁴ was Texas Governor George W. Bush.

 
Graphic⁵ Image
The difference was so narrow, election officials had to count the ballots⁷ again. State law calls for a recount when the difference is less than one-half of one percent of the vote.

Some voters said their ballots were difficult to understand. Some ballots were also difficult for older computer systems to read. As a result, the Gore campaign requested that officials recount some disputed ballots by hand.

The Bush campaign blocked the hand recount in federal court. In time, the case made its way to the United States Supreme⁸ Court.

VOICE ONE:

On December fourth, the Supreme Court stopped the recount in Florida. The court was divided five to four. The ruling, in effect, declared Mister Bush the winner. He had five-hundred-thirty-seven more votes in Florida. The court also declared any additional recounts requested by Mister Gore unconstitutional.

Nationally, Al Gore narrowly won the popular vote. But the United States uses the Electoral College system to elect presidents. The win in Florida meant that Mister Bush had two-hundred-seventy-one electoral votes. A candidate needs two-hundred-seventy to win the presidency⁹.

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VOICE TWO:

The election dispute in Florida led the federal government to take action. In two-thousand-two, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act. The main purpose of this law is to help states replace old voting machines with modern systems. Yet there are strengths and weaknesses to every voting system.

Most Americans marked their votes on paper ballots until a machine called the Myers Automatic Booth appeared. That was in eighteen-ninety-two, in Lockport, New York. Voters entered the booth and pulled on mechanical devices to make their choices. Another device attached to the machine counted the votes.

Mechanical voting machines spread to most big cities in the United States by the nineteen-thirties. A lot of Americans still vote on machines that are no longer made.

VOICE ONE:

Computers entered the American election process in the early nineteen-sixties. These machines use a punch-card ballot⁶ that can be read by a computer. Voters strike holes to mark their choices. The ballots are then fed into a computer that uses light to count the holes.

Many parts of the country, including areas in Florida, still used this system during the two-thousand election.

But, when voters make their choice, a small piece of paper is sometimes left over the hole. These pieces that do not fully¹⁰ disconnect are called chads. Computers may not count ballots that have what became widely known in the two-thousand election as "hanging chads."

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VOICE TWO:

 
Electronic Voting Machine
Under the Help America Vote Act, millions of dollars are being spent to replace old punch card and mechanical voting systems. State and local governments are buying systems where the ballot appears on a computer screen. Voters touch the screen to make their choices. These systems can provide results quickly.

But technical problems have been reported. There are also questions about computer security. The worst fear is that someone dishonest might be able to steal an election.

Avi Rubin is a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. He and a team of researchers say electronic voting systems are not acceptable for the presidential election this November. They argue that there are still too many problems.

Professor Rubin says electronic voting machines should be required to print out a copy of votes. These records would be saved in case of the need for a recount, or to confirm that the system worked correctly.

VOICE ONE:

Many organizations and political groups support this proposal. The Verified Voting Foundation and People for the American Way are urging their members to demand voter receipts in November.

And last month the League of Women Voters withdrew its support for electronic voting without any paper records. Members had criticized its position. A resolution passed by the group now calls for "secure" and "recountable" voting systems.

Many states have proposed legislation to require a paper record of every vote. Similar legislation has been proposed in Congress.

VOICE TWO:

 
Diebold voting system
One of the largest providers of electronic voting systems is Diebold, based in Ohio. Its machines are used in Ohio, Texas and Georgia and other states. Critics of electronic voting note that the chief executive officer of Diebold has raised a lot of money for President Bush. Walden O'Dell was criticized last August after he promised to help make sure the president received Ohio's electoral votes.

Mister O'Dell later expressed regret for his comments and promised to limit his activities. And last month an Ohio newspaper reported that he went further. The Cleveland Plain Dealer¹¹ said he got company directors to bar top Diebold officials from all political activity except voting.

VOICE ONE:

DeForest Soaries heads the Election Assistance Commission in Washington. Congress established this agency as a result of the two-thousand election. Mister Soaries was elected chairman when the commission held its first public meeting in March of this year. He says states should increase the security of electronic voting in November.

He also says makers¹² of electronic voting machines should release their computer software. That way security experts could examine the programs for weaknesses. And Mister Soaries has called for collecting information about problems with the machines. He says steps like these would help increase public trust in electronic voting.

VOICE TWO:

In California, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley says he wants to do just that. Mister Shelley is the chief elections official in America's most populated state.

He has ordered that all electronic voting systems in California must provide paper records by two-thousand-six. Until then, he wants people who do not trust electronic voting machines to have the right to vote by a traditional paper ballot.

Mister Shelley has also barred the use of electronic voting machines in some areas until they are more secure.

But some local officials are not happy. They have gone to court to oppose his orders.

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VOICE ONE:

The push to modernize¹³ the electoral process is not just in the United States. Earlier this year, parliamentary elections in India used electronic voting machines. Voters in Italy used electronic voting machines last month to choose representatives to the European Union. And voters in Venezuela will use them in August, in a special election to decide if Hugo Chavez will remain president.

This November, about three out of four Americans will vote on the same equipment they used four years ago. But election officials say it is simply a matter of time before electronic voting is much more common in this country.

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jill Moss and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁴. I'm Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Gwen Outen. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

12 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。