Based on a stratified random sample of 1,000 registered voters performed for ITAA by the Winston Group, the new poll finds that 77 percent of respondents are either not very concerned or not concerned at all about the security of election systems, regardless of technology platform. Another 64 percent of voters indicated that electronic voting using touchscreens or other devices would help eliminate past problems with elections, like extensive under or over voting.
"We view the results of this important survey as a real vote of confidence for electronic voting," said ITAA President Harris N. Miller. "While a handful of vocal critics have tried to raise doubts about this technology through conjecture and supposition, the American people know that electronic voting corrects the serious deficiencies of our nation's election infrastructure. Call this survey a vote for common sense."
Survey results include:
- Electronic voting systems are becoming as common as any other type of voting platform. Nineteen percent of respondents voted on electronic voting systems in the last local, state or federal election; another 23 percent voted on punch cards, 20 percent used paper ballots, 20 percent voted on lever machines and 12 percent utilized optical scanner technology.
- Geographic adoption of electronic voting systems is not uniform. Electronic voting is most prevalent in the South. Voters in the Northeast are far more likely to use lever machines, while those in the Midwest use more punch cards and the West a combination of punch cards and paper ballots.
- Experience with electronic voting builds confidence. Voters using electronic voting machines are as likely to trust the accuracy of those systems (88 percent) as other platforms. Lever machines and optical scanners scored slightly ahead of electronic voting (92 percent and 91 percent respectively) while punch card systems trailed slightly (84 percent).
- Security of electronic voting systems is not a major concern for most voters using this equipment, but is still an issue. Seven of 10 voters say they are not concerned about the security of electronic voting systems, although other voting platforms scored somewhat higher in this regard. Voters appear to have the fewest concerns about the security of lever machines (81 percent said they are not concerned), followed by optical scanners at 80 percent.
- E-voting is seen as the solution to voting problems of the past by most voters. Those voters using electronic voting equipment were far more likely to see it as a solution to the problems of under and over voting. Eighty-five percent of those who last voted on an electronic system agreed that these new platforms could help eliminate problems that have plagued past elections, while only 64 percent of those using lever machines, 59 percent of those using optical scanners and 53 percent of those using paper ballots agreed.
- Some electronic voting concerns may be generational. Young voters were substantially more likely than seniors to view electronic voting as a way to eliminate problems with other systems used in past elections. Seventy-four percent of those in the 18-34 age category agreed that electronic voting can help eliminate problems such as under and over voting, while only 52 percent of those 65 and older concurred; voters in the 65 plus category were twice as likely as young voters to strongly disagree with this idea.
