Nearly four months before the 2012 national elections, a study on U.S. voting preparedness has found that some states are far more ready than others. Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin were all labeled as the “best prepared” states for voting problems and disenfranchisement protection. While on the other hand, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina are the six “least-prepared” states. The Rutgers Law School released the study that evaluates each state’s preparedness for the 2012 election. According to the study, computerized voting systems have failed in every national election in the past decade in some way: they haven’t started, they failed in the middle of voting, the memory cards couldn’t be read, or the votes were lost as a whole. The study used five categories of proven failures and successes as its basis for judgment in each state. They also protect against machine failures that can change election outcomes and disenfranchised voters.
… There were also many improvements listed in the study, especially since the 2000 national election which was only resolved after months of recounts and court trials regarding George W. Bush and Al Gore’s votes. One notable improvement is that every state now has at least one contingency preparation plan for possible equipment failures. And no states were ranked with an “inadequate” rating of general accounting and reconciliation practices.
Many states did not use electronic voting machines until after the 2000 national election. Now, the study and national officials recommend that states use electronic and paper ballots in tandem. In the 2008 national election, U.S. voter turnout was 61 percent. With less possibility of disenfranchisement or electronic malfunction, officials hope that number may increase because voters will feel more comfort with the voting process.
Full Article: Wide Divide In States’ Voting Preparedness « CBS DC.
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A News Service of the Verified Voting Foundation
