Voting Machine Risks in 2008

Six of the 15 states that hold presidential primaries on Super Tuesday are at “high” risk for having election results affected by electronic voting machine malfunction or tampering, according to a new report by Common Cause and the Verified Voting Foundation. Twenty-four states hold presidential primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5, but only 15 of them will use voting machines to select candidates.

In all, a troubling 17 states that will hold their presidential primaries over the next several months, including two that have already held them, are at high risk for voting machine mishaps that could change election results, the report shows. The states were given that ranking for using electronic voting machines that do not produce an independent, voter-verifiable paper record that could be used in the case of a recount or audit.

In addition, the report found 17 states to be at “medium” risk for having election results affected by voting machine failure. This classification was given to states that use voting systems that deploy paper ballots or produce a voter-verifiable paper record of each voter’s vote, but do not require audits.

The report found six states to be at “low” risk for a voting meltdown because those states use voting systems that deploy paper ballots or produce voter verifiable paper records, as well as require audits.

CLICK HERE for full report.

Michael H. Drucker
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