States Move Back to Paper Ballots

None by Jeff Robinson

(KCPW News) The mess caused by paper ballots in Florida during the 2000 presidential race led to large states adopting electronic voting systems. But now a handful of those states are moving away from electronic voting and back to paper ballots, and more states are on the way.

Doug Chapin, director of Electionline.org, which just wrote a report on the issue, says the movement started in California, when one democratic secretary of state and his successor called for the machines to be decertified after problems during the 2004 presidential primary.

Chapin says this investigation of electronic voting machines led to the wave of paper ballots that delayed election results in some districts during the 2008 presidential primary on Super Tuesday.

There's no common solution for every district and every state, Chapin says. Instead, he says they'll have to weigh the pros and cons of both electronic voting and optically scanned ballots, at significant cost.

Other states moving back to paper ballots include Ohio, New Mexico, Florida, and Colorado.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom and Election 2008. Copyright 2009 KCPW