DRE voting machine

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Direct recording voting machine developed in Brazil and used in 100% of Brazilian elections

A direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machine records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electro-optical components that can be activated by the voter; that processes data by means of a computer program; and that records voting data and ballot images in memory components. It produces a tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and as printed copy. The system may also provide a means for transmitting individual ballots or vote totals to a central location for consolidating and reporting results from precincts at the central location.

In 2004, 28.9% of the registered voters in the United States used some type of direct recording electronic voting system, up from 7.7% in 1996.

1 Security and Concerns
- 1.1 Auditing and VVAT
- 1.2 Public Source Code
2 Benefits of DRE voting machines
3 Machine manufacturers
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Security and Concerns

Critics of DRE Machines claim that there is an increased risk of electoral fraud and if the security of the DRE source code software is compromised, election results could be tampered with in an undetectable fashion. Other critics charge that foreign hardware could be inserted into the machine, using a man in the middle attack technique, and call for DRE machines to be physically sealed. These claims are countered by the position that review and testing procedures can detect fraudulent code or hardware, if such things are present, and that a thorough, verifiable chain of custody would prevent the insertion of such hardware or software. Concerns like these have prompted the use of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail. Another method to detect fraudulent voting machines are parallel test elections which are conducted on the election day with randomly picked machines. (The ACM published a study showing that, to change the outcome of the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, only 2 votes in each precinct would have needed to been changed.^[1])

See also: 2004 U.S. presidential election controversy and irregularities

[edit] Auditing and VVAT

A fundamental challenge with any voting machine is assuring the votes were recorded as cast and tabulated as recorded. Non-document ballot voting system can have a greater burden of proof, and are even referred to as Black Box Voting machines by critics. This is often solved with an independent audit-able system that can also be used in recounts. These systems can include the ability for voters to verify how their votes were cast, known as a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail, or further to verify how their votes were tabulated. Some systems allow voters to receive a receipt they retain to prove their vote. However, a system that allows the voter to prove how they voted is not used in U.S. public elections, and is prohibited by most state constitutions. Voter intimidation and vote selling are the chief concerns that have led to prohibition of receipts. .

This is a Diebold Election Systems, Inc. model AccuVote-TSx DRE voting machine with VVPAT attachment.

Various technologies can be used to assure voters that their vote was cast correctly, detect possible fraud or malfunction, and to provide a means to audit the original machine. Some systems include technologies such as cryptography (visual or mathematical), paper (kept by the voter or only verified), audio verification, and dual recording systems (other than with paper).

Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, the creator of the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) concept (as described in her Ph.D. dissertation in October 2000 on the basic voter verifiable ballot system), proposes to answer the audit-ability question by having the voting machine print a paper ballot or other paper facsimile that can be visually verified by the voter before being entered into a secure location. Subsequently, this is sometimes referred to as the "Mercuri method").

An audit system can be used in measured random recounts to detect possible malfunction or fraud. With the VVPAT method, the paper ballot is often treated as the official ballot of record. In this scenario, the ballot is primary and the electronic records are used only for an initial count. In any subsequent recounts or challenges the paper not electronic ballot would be used for tabulation. Whenever a paper record serves as the legal ballot, that system will be subject the same benefits and concerns of any paper ballot system.

To successfully audit any voting machine a strict chain of custody is required.

[edit] Public Source Code

Security experts, such as Bruce Schneier, have demanded that voting machine source code should be publicly available for inspection.^[2] Others have also suggested publishing voting machine software under an free software license like it is done in australia.^[3] Publicly reviewable source code would not in itself be enough to determine if the code running on the machine differs from the original inspected code. The operating system, BIOS, firmware and other hardware can also be used to hide malicious code and need to be inspected. In Australia the software used is open source, but the other sources of error have caused the government to insist on a voter verifiable paper ballot.

[edit] Benefits of DRE voting machines

A Hart eSlate DRE voting machine with jelly buttons for people with manual dexterity disabilities.

Besides the obvious benefit of increased speed in vote counting, DRE voting systems are often favored because they can incorporate assistive technologies for handicapped people, allowing them to vote without forfeiting the anonymity of their vote. These machines can use headphones and other adaptive technology to provide the necessary accessibility. DRE's can also provide immediate feedback to the voter detecting such possible problems as undervoting and overvoting which may result in a spoiled ballot. This immediate feedback can be helpful in successfully determining voter intent.

A comparative analysis by the CalTech/MIT Voting Technology Project suggests that a switch to a DRE-based system results in a significant drop in the number of spoiled ballots. Most notable is the state of Georgia, which went from second-worst to second-best in the country in terms of its "residual voting" rate after changing its voting system statewide.^[4]

Additionally, with DRE voting systems there is no risk of exhausting the supply of paper ballots, and remove the need for printing of paper ballots, a significant cost.^[5] When administering elections in which ballots are offered in multiple languages (in some areas of the United States, public elections are required to by the National Voting Rights Act of 1965), DRE voting systems can be programmed to provide ballots in multiple languages on a single machine. For example, King County, Washington's demographics require them under U.S. federal election law to provide ballot access in Chinese. With any type of paper ballot, the county has to decide how many Chinese-language ballots to print, how many to make available at each polling place, etc. Any strategy that can assure that Chinese-language ballots will be available at all polling places is certain, at the very least, to result in a lot of wasted ballots.