Schwarzenegger

Last Week, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger won the California recall election and will soon be sworn in as the state's new governor, ousting incumbent Governor Gray Davis, one of the few governors in U.S. history to be recalled. The race generated broad public interest in the state and across the United States, with Democrats, Republicans, independents and a Green Party candidate debating on television. Approximately 60 percent of the state's eligible voters cast ballots in the race -- up significantly from the dismal 36 percent from the Nov. 2002 general election. The October 7 election had been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which claimed voters in counties where punch-cards were used could be cheated because of alleged inaccuracies in the manual voting system. A lower court decision to delay the recall was overturned just days before the scheduled election.

Early Returns
Of the voting systems certified for use in California, touch screen voting systems were used in four counties and accounted for one of every 10 votes cast in the state. Optical scanning equipment was employed in 34 counties, Datavote (a paper ballot that is not pre-scored) in 12 and punch cards in seven counties. Problems with punch cards as reported in Florida, are now infamous and were the foundation of an ACLU lawsuit that spurred changes in voting laws. Datavote systems were not decertified.

The current controversy, however, surrounds the integrity of electronic voting systems. Among the issues that concern poll watchers, governments and guardians of the Constitution, are security, accuracy, accountability, transparency and the creation of a verifiable paper trail for each vote cast.

In California, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley appointed a task force that examined these and other issues surrounding direct recording electronic voting systems (DREs). Chief among the groups' concerns was the ability to audit elections using paper copies of ballots or some other representation of individual votes cast. In California, where Schwarzenegger led closest rival Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante by approximately 850,000 votes, the election was anything but close. Consequently, there were no calls for a recount. And, in largely rural Shasta County where Sequoia Voting Systems touch-screen units were used for the first time, a paper trail didn't seem essential to voters, according to Ann Reed, County Clerk and Registrar.

"There were some people who called and asked if there would be a copy of their ballot," she said. "I was very patient about telling anyone who asked that I felt very confident about the machines." Reed said the one-percent hand count she did verified to her satisfaction that the touch screen units were performing as promised. She was also pleased with how the public responded to new technology. "In every polling place we had a demo unit," she explained. "But less than 5 percent of people asked for a demo. They went right into the booth. Very few people needed help. It was great." Reed said she had hoped to do more public outreach prior to election -- her biggest effort happened at the county fair last summer where demonstration units were available.

"I was a little concerned about getting the election officers trained. They didn't know how to turn it on and neither did we," she said, referring to the new electronic machines. To make this challenge more manageable, Reed consolidated polling places to minimize the number of workers that needed training. Shasta County recorded a 63 percent voter turnout and few complaints about either the process or the new technology. "The voters absolutely loved it. It was simple, easy to use," Reed concluded.