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By Matthew Mosk and Ann E. Marimow Friday, February 10, 2006; Page B05
A pair of Maryland professors hired by the State Board of Elections to
study vote-verification equipment told legislators yesterday that the
technology makes it more difficult to vote, increases the time it takes
to participate in elections and decreases the privacy with which votes
are cast.The study of more than 800 Maryland voters who used five types of
machines found that "while a paper trail or some other verification
device may sound good in the abstract, it may cause serious problems in
the real world of voters and elections," according to Paul S. Herrnson of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship.
Legislation
to require Maryland's voting systems to produce a paper record is
working its way through the House. Advocates say documentation is
critical to voter confidence in elections.
Linda Schade ,
executive director of TrueVoteMD, said the study was flawed because it
did not consider an optical scan system that uses a paper ballot.
"Voters in Maryland are tired of voting on an insecure system," she
said.
Elections Official Accused of Bias
Senate Republicans yesterday accused an official at the nonpartisan
State Board of Elections of violating his pledge of impartiality by
helping Democrats pass legislation to allow early voting in November.
At
a hearing on election bills, senators produced an e-mail from the top
aide to the Democratic Senate president asking the deputy administrator
of the elections board for advice on how to craft "a rebuttal" to the
case for sustaining Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr .'s veto.
Sen. Andrew P. Harris
(R-Baltimore County) said Republicans might ask the state prosecutor to
investigate what he called "a gross violation of election law."
Ross Goldstein
, the deputy administrator, said he routinely briefs the General
Assembly and its staff when background information is requested. "I do
so consistently, regardless of party," he said.
In an e-mail,
Goldstein wrote that the "information is not a formal Board response or
rebuttal" and that it was "information for you to use, but not to
attribute" to the board. His advice contradicted the GOP-controlled
election board's position on the issue. His e-mail offers a detailed
case for early voting by rejecting a long list of arguments against it.
Sen. Allan H. Kittleman (R-Howard) said it was not factual advice but a list of talking points that he called "unethical and improper."
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