Asking the Right Questions About Electronic Voting

by Celeste, Richard F.; Thornburgh, Dick; Lin, Herbert

• ISBN13: 9780309100243
• ISBN10: 0309100240
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-30
• Publisher: Natl Academy Pr

Summary

Many election officials look to electronic voting systems as a means for improving their ability to more effectively conduct and administer elections. At the same time, many information technologists and activists have raised important concerns regarding the security of such systems. Policy makers are caught in the midst of a controversy with both political and technological overtones. The public debate about electronic voting is characterized by a great deal of emotion and rhetoric. Asking the Right Questions About Electronic Votingdescribes the important questions and issues that election officials, policy makers, and informed citizens should ask about the use of computers and information technology in the electoral process--focusing the debate on technical and policy issues that need resolving. The report finds that while electronic voting systems have improved, federal and state governments have not made the commitment necessary for e-voting to be widely used in future elections. More funding, research, and public education are required if e-voting is to become viable.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary	1	(16)
The Electoral System	17	(12)
The Electoral Process	17	(7)
Scale of the Electoral System	24	(1)
Observations	25	(4)
Public Confidence in Elections	29	(5)
The Relationship Between Democracy and Elections	29	(1)
Legitimacy in a Democracy	29	(3)
Desiderata for Elections	32	(2)
Voting Technologies	34	(11)
Introduction	34	(3)
Electronic Voting Systems in Use Today	37	(5)
The Larger Context	42	(3)
Technology Issues	45	(51)
Information Technology for Voter Registration	45	(9)
Information Technology for Voting	54	(42)
Approaching the Acquisition Process	55	(2)
Security	57	(25)
Usability and Human Factors Engineering	82	(13)
Reconciling Security and Usability	95	(1)
Life-Cycle and Training Issues	96	(10)
The Life Cycle for Information Technology Systems	96	(4)
Poll Worker Training	100	(6)
The Broader Context of Electronic Voting	106	(24)
The End-to-End Nature of the Electoral Process	106	(1)
Data Issues	107	(1)
Public Confidence in Elections	108	(2)
Testing, Certification, and Evaluation	110	(4)
Funding and Sustaining Improvement	114	(4)
Election Institutions	118	(2)
The Role of the Private Sector in Election Administration	120	(2)
Research Questions	122	(8)
Findings and Conclusions	130	(17)
APPENDIXES
A. Glossary	137	(2)
B. Committee and Staff Biographies	139	(5)
C. Contributors to the Study	144	(3)
What Is CSTB?	147