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November 20 & 27, 2000 The Technology of Voting and Counting Votes |
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Tidbit Archive
| Americans have learned far more than they probably ever wanted to
know about the technical side of voting and counting votes in the past
couple of weeks, as the terms "butterfly
ballot," "chad," "pregnant chad," and "dimpled
chad" entered the popular lexicon. The fact that the results of the
Presidential election fell basically within the boundaries of measurement
error came as a shock to many Americans and to others around the world
watching the U.S. election. Even more disturbing was the revelation
that voting machines are a less-than-perfect technology and that some types
of devices are notoriously inaccurate, particularly when combined with
poorly designed ballots.
Could it be possible that, as The New York Times suggested in a front page story this week, "Vote-Count Machines Are Only Human"? More shocking still to those who have been conditioned to have an unbounded faith in machines was the possibility that hand recounts could actually be more accurate than computers. A closer look at the mathematics involved makes this evident. In Florida, an accuracy rate of 99 percent (a fair estimate for some types of machines) would mean that 34,500 out of the 3.45 million votes cast could be miscounted. An objective hand count could be considerably more accurate. Voting is perhaps the last significant remaining use of the once-ubiquitous Hollerith card (also once known as an "IBM card" or "punch card"). These cards have long been known to be the source of computer errors. New voting technologies, such as touch-screen devices, are available, but most of the 3,140 counties in the United States, which are the bodies that administer elections, have been notoriously slow to adopt them, mainly because of their cost and the fact that there has been relatively little demand for them from citizens. That is likely to change in the coming months. |
Links:Voting, Computers and the Human-Computer Interface, an excellent resource on human-machine interaction and voting technology. See, especially, the question and answer section.
Florida Department of State Division of Elections -- scene of U.S. Presidential election controversy.
"Voting Machines," episode No. 486 of "Engines of Our Ingenuity," a series of brief radio programs devoted to technology, by John Lienhard of the University of Houston.
Map of the United States showing the type of voting technology used in each county (from USA Today's excellent Election 2000 site).
The 1999 Buyer's Guide for Election Services, Supplies and Equipment.
Sequoia Pacific Voting Equipment, manufacturer of the AVC Advantage Electronic Voting System as well as a new touch screen system.
Global Election Systems -- maker of the Accuvote system.
Election Resources Corporation -- products include the ballot printing system used in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Election Systems & Software, Inc. -- provider of "hardware, software and service solutions for every phase in the election/voting cycle."
Center for Voting and Democracy -- a U.S. organization that studies "how voting systems affect participation, representation and governance."
Electronic Voting Machine Information and FAQs -- instructions on how to use new voting technology from the Election Commission of India.
"Vulnerability of Computerized Vote Counting Systems" -- from a 1996 computer science class project at Stanford University.
Frequently Asked Questions About Voting Systems Standards -- from the U.S. Federal Election Commission.
Voting Day Equipment -- guidelines from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, part of the "first-ever attempt to provide a globally accessible information resource on election administration." The United Nations is a partner in this effort. There is also a section on vote counting.
Definition and origins of the word "chad" from the New Hacker's Dictionary. According to this source, the term may derive from the Chadless keypunch, a device originally used to cut U-shaped tabs in punch cards. Also known as "chaff," "computer confetti," and "keypunch droppings." Chad that is not completely punched out can be "dimpled" or "pregnant" and can be misread by counting machinery.
E-mail your tidbit suggestions to ateich@aaas.org.Search for more on information on voting technology on:
