DOBBS: Tonight, electronic voting goes on trial for the very first time in this country. A group of citizens challenging the legality of electronic voting machines in the State of Maryland. The outcome of this case could have a critical impact on the very future of democracy and the way in which we vote in this country.

Louise Schiavone reports.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democracy means a paper trail now!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democracy means a paper trail now!

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democracy means a paper trail now!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democracy means a paper trail now!

LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A small but determined band of e-voting protesters took to the streets of Annapolis as a county judge heard a challenge to the state's plans for e-voting in November.

LINDA SCHADE, TRUEVOTEMD.ORG: Basically, they are very vulnerable to human error, computer malfunction and fraud. So those are the three categories, and anyone who's used to computer knows that computers crash and you lose data.

SCHIAVONE: One of many public watchdog groups alarmed by the trend toward high-tech voting, True Vote Maryland wants to state to provide printed receipts to voters. With November fast approaching, however, the group would settle for paper ballots as a remedy. The state is not prepared to offer such a receipt, and, for the record, board of elections officials offer "no comment on the advice of legal counsel."

But the manufacturer of e-voting machines used in Maryland says, "The machines have been used for many years in hundreds of elections without a single factual security issue. Touchscreens break down barriers which have disenfranchised voters with special needs. They are not flexible to language needs and are much more user-friendly." But there are bugs in every manmade system, and the touchscreen machines are no exception. Many states are moving to the technology, key states like California, Ohio and Florida among them.

MATT HOLLAND, TRUE MAJORITY: California had a raft of problems during their primary earlier in the year with machines not booting up, with people not being presented with the right ballots. There have been problems going back several years. One of the best-known examples comes from, ironically, Palm Beach County, Florida, where 132 votes in an off-year election, a single-race election recorded nothing at all, and there's no way to ever go back and find out.

SCHIAVONE: And that's at the root of the court battle in Maryland.

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SCHIAVONE: Lou, polls show this will be one of the closest elections in history. With the bitterness of the Florida recount still fresh, concerns may be greater than ever before that, in November, every vote is counted -- Lou.

DOBBS: The thought that this year's election could be closer than that of 2000 is sobering indeed. Louise Schiavone, thank you.

Joining me now is the plaintiff who brought this case against the Maryland State Board of Elections. Linda Schade is the co-founder of truevotemaryland.org, and she joins me from Washington.

Good to have you here.

What, Linda, made you decide that a lawsuit was the only way to advance the interest of voters in your state?

SCHADE: Well, we began this a year ago, and, after trying to talk to our election officials and then going through a legislative session, we realized that legal action was the only thing it required, and we are arguing that if this election goes forward without a paper trail, it will be legal under Maryland law.

DOBBS: Well, as you know, in a number of states, the secretaries of state have brought action against several counties within their states basically saying that those counties are not ready to use the voting machines without paper backup. What is the basis of your action?

SCHADE: We are -- we had been seeking the decertification of the machines. Basically, as I was saying, our argument is that Maryland law requires a paper trail, and it requires that officials be able to reconstruct the election with an original voter record. And so, without a paper trail, it will be -- it's really invalid to go forward without a paper trail.

DOBBS: And that being the case, what could be the objection of state officials in Maryland? SCHADE: That's the $64,000 question. They consistently maintain that these machines work fine, that the primary election was flawless. We heard devastating testimony today from someone who had an incomplete ballot. The Senate race was missing from it, and it turns out that Senator Mikulski, the injured candidate, has heard from voters in three counties in Maryland that their ballots did not have the Senate race on them.

Linda Schade, we thank you very much. One last question as we must leave you: How soon do we expect the judge to take action on this case?

SCHADE: Well, we know it will be before the election comes, but I can't say more than that. But the trial will go through Friday, and I think very dramatic testimony will unfold in the next few days.

DOBBS: The fact that we are now just less than 10 weeks away from that election puts, I would think, great urgency on the judge to act.

Linda Schade, we thank you very much for being with us here.

SCHADE: Thanks for having me.

DOBBS: We invited Maryland's governor, Robert Erhlich, and Maryland's state elections chief, Linda Lamone, to join us tonight. They declined our invitation.

Palm Beach County, Florida, of course, at the center of the voting controversy in the 2000 presidential election. It was in that county that thousands of votes were counted incorrectly on the infamous butterfly ballots that many voters found apparently too confusing to use properly.

Tonight, you might be surprised to learn that the woman who was in charge of the Palm Beach County election four years ago -- yes, she is the very same woman who designed those confounding butterfly ballots -- is still on the job.

The Palm Beach County Election Supervisor Theresa LePore is still in charge of elections in her county, and we should note that LePore currently is up for reelection and has three opponents. She is the front runner.

Tonight's thought is on voting. "Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting." President Franklin D. Roosevelt.