Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/19/2004 03:40 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 296-PAPER TRAIL FOR ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE
CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced SB 296 to be up for consideration
and asked Senator Ellis to introduce the bill.
SENATOR JOHNNY ELLIS, Senate District L representative and
sponsor of SB 296, stated:
In the wake of the 2000 federal election, and with the
impetus of the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA),
states across the nation are replacing punch card and
paper ballots with computerized vote casting,
tabulation and reporting. Alaska has successfully used
the Acu-Vote system of optically scanned ballots since
1998. New direct recording equipment (DRE) machines -
also known as touch -screen - are scheduled to be used
for the first time in 2004.
In fact, the Division of Elections here in Alaska has
purchased 100 of these touch-screen voting machines
and will deploy them across the state for the first
time in the primary election this fall.
I would ask, Mr. Chairman, to just imagine that it is
Election Day 2004. You enter your polling place and go
to cast your vote on a brand new touch-screen voting
machine. The screen says your vote has been counted.
As you exit the voting booth, however, you begin to
wonder. How do I know if the machine actually recorded
my vote? The fact is, you don't.
The problem is simple; a touch-screen voting machine
records your vote in the memory of the machine where
you can't see it. How do you know that your vote for
candidate A wasn't recorded as a vote for candidate B?
You don't.
In this first election it will be blind and disabled
Alaskans who will have that question. In the future it
could be all Alaskans who choose to go to the polls
who would have to ask those questions. But there is a
way to prevent that.
I note Mr. Chairman that computer experts across the
country have warned of numerous problems with the
direct recording equipment machines. In fact, there
are a number of horror stories in your bill packets.
As counties and state governments use these machines
in their elections, there have been very significant
problems.
The answer to this is really simple - an auditable
paper trail for these machines. The good news is that
we can use federal funds. We don't have to use state
funds. Federal funds are available to modify these
machines and the technology is there and improving all
the time to make sure there is an auditable paper
trail.
Citizen trust is the bedrock of democracy. Only an
accurate count can assure voters that elections result
in the true reflection of their will. Requiring a
voter verified paper trail will assure Alaskans that
no matter what technology is adopted in the future,
their elections will be transparent and their votes
counted accurately.
SENATOR JOHN COWDERY asked if each voter could go back and see
how they voted.
SENATOR ELLIS replied the Acu-Vote system has been used
successfully for several years. The voter marks their ballot and
places it in the machine. The voter is able to verify how they
marked their ballot. If there is a question or challenge to the
election, there is a paper trail for a recount. With the DRE
machines and without a statutorily required auditable paper
trail, a recount or challenge is dependent on the memory that is
on a computer chip. Because hacking is not uncommon, challenges
and recounts are difficult. Auditable paper trails are the
solution and the wave of the future, he said.
"We have one of the best election staffs and sets of volunteers
of any state. We rank at the very top in all of these objective,
non-partisan analyses..." However, there have been a number of
close and hard fought elections in the state as well as a number
of challenges and recounts. A verifiable paper trail is
important for the future.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS remarked it is extremely important to be able
to trust election results. He noted he has read about systems
that give voters a paper receipt. He questioned the validity of
the secret ballot if people are able to leave the polling
station with a paper showing how they voted.
DANA OWENS, staff to Senator Ellis, explained that most
companies that are working on this technology are working on
systems where the voter wouldn't actually hold the verification.
They would view the ballot through a window and verify the
accuracy before the ballot is deposited into a different place
than where the electronic vote is recorded.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS said, "A paper trail means there really is a
piece of paper..."
SENATOR ELLIS said the 100 machines that the Division of
Elections has already purchased were the result of a unanimous
bi-partisan vote to help the blind and disabled vote in private.
The federal Help America Vote Act is a result of the debacle in
Florida in the last presidential election and the federal
government has made money available for states to update their
systems. Although he has gotten the impression that the federal
government won't require an auditable paper trail it's logical
to move in that direction. SB 296 requirements would begin in
2006 to give the Division of Elections the time to secure the
needed technology and work out the system.
SENATOR BERT STEDMAN asked how many disabled voters reside in
Alaska.
SENATOR ELLIS said he didn't have that information.
SENATOR STEDMAN asked when the federal requirements begin.
MR. OWEN replied January 1, 2006.
SENATOR ELLIS said Alaska is ahead of the curve, but those 100
new machines won't have an auditable paper trail.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS recalled testimony from last session when a
blind man said he had to go into the voting booth with his wife
and he humorously stated that he was never sure that she voted
the right way. He asked Senator Stedman how secure he would be
in that situation.
SENATOR STEDMAN chuckled and admitted there are times when he
wouldn't be very secure.
SENATOR ELLIS commented that a lot of married couples cancel
each other.
LAURA GLAISER, director, Division of Elections, said Senator
Ellis covered much of her testimony so she would rather answer
questions and make sure everyone understood the process.
She explained that the current election system is not on the
Internet and is quite secure. The memory is transmitted via
modem, but to hack the line the hacker would have to "know
exactly which phone that the precinct would use, which phone
number was used, which phone number they were dialing into and
hit that 3 to 5 seconds when that information is transmitted."
For many years Alaska has had an exemplary bipartisan review and
that would continue. A bipartisan board tests the memory cards
and zeroes them out then runs a test ballot to make sure it
always runs the same and to ensure that a Trojan Horse isn't
placed in the machine.
The division does not oppose SB 296, she said, but the
modifications have yet to receive certification. They selected
the new touch-screen system because it has been certified. She
said the 2006 implementation date is a gracious accommodation
and would coincide with the federal implementation date. This
bill would allow the division to implement the 100 touch-screen
machines.
At some point she said she would like clarification because they
didn't plan to limit the use of the 100 touch-screen machines to
only those voters who are blind, disabled or visually impaired.
If a legislative policy maker wanted to limit that use, she said
they would understand.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked if the machine was a Braille machine.
MS. GLAISER replied the Acu-Vote touch-screen system has a
touchpad that blind people are accustomed to using. There is an
audio unit that walks the voter through the ballot and allows
selection with the touchpad.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked about whether the voter receives some
sort of confirmation that they voted in a certain way.
MS. GLAISER said the new machines meet federal law, which
requires an audit trail. Although there is a paper tape inside,
the voter can't see it and that is the issue that SB 296
addresses.
SENATOR STEDMAN commented that he appreciates the movement to
make it easier for the visually impaired to fully participate in
the democratic system.
CAREN ROBINSON, representative of the Alaska Woman's Lobby,
said:
This bill is critical to ensure the faith in our
elections. Around the nation, the faith is being lost
due to the controversy surrounding computer based
voting.
Unless we maintain our ability to recount the ballots,
by hand, when resolves are questioned, we can never
know whether our elections are honest or rigged,
whether equipment was accurate or failed.
The Alaska Women's Lobby believes that nothing is more
important to the advancement of women in society but
their vote be accurately counted.
She encouraged support for the legislation.
SENATOR COWDERY asked for an explanation of the revised fiscal
note.
MS. GLAISER explained that the original fiscal note showed 446
precincts and after the revision in the Interior, there are only
441 precincts.
JENNIFER RUDINGER, executive director of the ACLU, testified via
teleconference to say that this is a very complicated issue and
she looks forward to learning more about the new technology.
"The integrity of the voting process is ... fundamental to the
operation of our democracy," she said. A major component of the
process is voting technology that is honest and accurate. She
urged members to remain ever vigilant about new technology and
strive to deliver a system that maximizes the likelihood that
the voters' intent is recorded. The system should be as simple
as possible yet the technology must be sophisticated enough to
ensure confidence that it cannot be rigged to thwart the will of
the electorate.
Touch-screen voting systems certainly offer potential advantages
including ease of use, accessibility to the disabled, and
adaptability to different languages. That being said, computer
experts are uncertain about the overall security and reliability
of this system. The ACLU Board of Directors is currently
debating this issue and will have specific recommendations in
approximately three weeks.
"In terms of SB 296, voter verified paper ballots are a step in
the direction of where we need to go toward public
accountability.... but it's not the end of the inquiry," she
concluded. The board would have specific recommendations after
March 15 and looks forward to working with Senator Ellis, other
legislators, and the Division of Elections on this issue.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS thanked Ms. Rudinger and cautioned her not to
dawdle as the legislative clock was ticking and that it's more
productive to be a part of the legislative process before a
decision is made.
MS. RUDINGER agreed and said they are working to learn about the
new technology. She appreciated the opportunity to go on the
record to say they like the direction SB 296 is moving and they
will formulate their recommendations shortly.
NINA MOLLETT testified that she has been following this issue
since November 2000. Although she believes that Alaska has had
the best voting system in the country, she is concerned now that
the 100 touch-screen voting machines have been purchased because
she doesn't trust the company that makes the machines and
develops the software. She suggested there are other solutions
being developed for HAVA.
DON ANDERSON testified via teleconference and reported he is a
former member of the State Election Review Board and has been a
computer programmer for 39 years. He expressed strong support
for SB 296 and urged members to pass the bill before the next
election.
He recommended:
· Providing a statistical audit selection of certain
machines. Those machines would have their paper ballots
removed and counted by a bipartisan committee and compared
with the electronic results.
· Limit touch-screen machine use to the disabled - even
though they have a paper trail - to minimize their impact
until substantially more is known about how auditable they
are.
On a personal note and as a staunch Republican, he said he
would like to see some Republican legislators sign on as
sponsors.
SENATOR ELLIS cheerfully said, "That's the best witnesses I've
ever heard. I don't know the guy; I'm so glad he showed up."
SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS made a motion to move SB 296 from
committee with individual recommendations and attached revised
fiscal note. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Gary Stevens adjourned the meeting at 5:00 pm.
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