Naked City

Responding to activist calls last week that verifiable paper voter receipts be mandated for electronic voting machines in Texas' November elections (see "Naked City: E-Voting in the Hot Box," July 16), Secretary of State Geoffrey Connor – who oversees Texas elections – offered a statement, reading in part:

"I continue to have the utmost confidence in the direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems presently in use in thirteen Texas counties, and have no intention of arbitrarily decertifying any of these systems without just cause." (Those counties include the state's six largest – Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant, Travis, and El Paso; the 13 total contain more than half the state's population.)

"There is simply too little time to integrate this new technology without causing unintended chaos at the polls," Connor continued. "This is due in large part to the considerable time that it takes to certify a new system with paper trail capabilities, to have the counties undergo their local procurement process, and most importantly to educate the public and poll workers on how to operate the new system."

Unlike his counterparts in California and Ohio, who have in fact decertified various DRE systems amid mounting evidence of security problems, Connor has no worries about the state's increasing reliance on e-voting. "While some wish to cast a cloud over our elections or create a sense of uncertainty and paranoia, the Secretary of State, along with local election officials – Democrat, Republican and nonpartisan leaders alike – remains committed to ensuring Texans have confidence in the integrity and accuracy of our elections."

On Monday, citizens' groups delivered 21,000 signatures asking that Connor ensure the integrity of the Nov. 2 ballot by decertifying the use of electronic voting machines currently in use in Texas. Computer scientist Dan Wallach of Rice University said that Connor's assurances are insufficient because "the state of Texas' certification process and requirements are outdated, and do not address many serious concerns with paperless electronic voting systems." Wallach said that the state's own examiners admit that they do not have the time to review the machines' source code, that the machines are insufficiently safeguarded (and unverifiable) against corrupted software, and that only a voter-verifiable paper trail allows adequate safeguards.

Speaking for a coalition that includes Common Cause, MoveOn.org, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Citizen, and numerous others, Vickie Karp, national chair of the Coalition for Visible Ballots, said, "In August, according to Texas law, Mr. Connor has the opportunity to take action to assure Texas voters that their votes will count by decertifying these e-voting machines unless they add the paper ballot for voter verifiability at the polls. ... The current electronic systems do not satisfy Texas statute requirements and should be replaced."