Electronic Voting Machines Need Safeguards

With November elections fast approaching, computer scientists are stepping up pressure on Congress to improve the accuracy and security of electronic voting. Eugene H. Spafford, a computer-science professor at Purdue University, wrote to Rep. Vernon Ehlers, Republican chairman of the Committee on House Administration, urging him to support legislation that would require voting-machine results to be documented by a paper trail. Spafford is chairman of the U.S. Public Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery. "As experts in computing, we have grave reservations about the safeguards in place with many of the computerized voting technologies being used," the letter read. David Wagner, a computer-science professor at the University of California, alsodescribed his concerns before a joint hearing of two House committees. "A single person with insider access and some technical knowledge could switch votes, perhaps undetected, and potentially swing an election," Mr. Wagner warned members of Congress. --Andrea L. Foster in Wired Campus