연락하다:

Christy Setzer, New Heights Communications, christy@newheightscommunications.com, (202) 724-6380

Susan Greenhalgh, Common Cause, segreenhalgh@gmail.com, (917)-796-8782

Mary Boyle, Common Cause, mboyle@commoncause.org, (202) 736-5770

투표기 준비는 "개선 필요" 하지만 11월 6일까지 변경 가능

WASHINGTON – A lack of effective voter protection measures places South Carolina near the bottom of a ranking of states based upon its preparedness to successfully manage voting machine failures on Election Day, a new, national voting report finds.

The report, “Counting Votes 2012: A State by State Look at Voting Technology Preparedness,” was released Wednesday by three non-partisan organizations focused on voting – the Verified Voting Foundation, the Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic, and Common Cause. Despite South Carolina’s low rating, the report emphasizes that election officials still have time to make changes in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 election.

“After thorny technology issues in recent elections, South Carolina is on the cusp of transitioning into a more resilient voting system. In the meantime, there are actions that can be taken to prepare for the upcoming election,” said Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting. “For example, we recommend an update to the current rules that restrict the quantity of emergency ballots at the polling place to ten percent of registered voters or less. Past experience, and the age of the current voting systems, would indicate more emergency ballots may be needed on Election Day to ensure voters are not disenfranchised.”

South Carolina can improve its election procedures before Nov. 6 by doing things like: upgrading its ballot accounting and reconciliation practices, which would be able to catch any machine errors; encouraging overseas and military voters to cast ballots by mail even if they have the option to vote via e-mail or fax; and ensuring that comprehensive contingency plans are in place (re-enforcing best practices from the secretary of state on down, for example).

Many states have neglected to address or prepare for voting machine malfunction, and in every national election in the past decade, voting systems have failed. In 2008 – the last presidential election year – more than 1,800 problems were reported nationally.

Common Cause의 수잔나 굿맨은 "역사가 어떤 지표가 된다면, 이번 11월 미국에서 기계가 고장나고 투표가 사라질 것입니다."라고 말했습니다. "종이 투표지, 감사 및 양호한 투표 조정 관행과 같은 백업 시스템을 구축하여 결과가 정확한지 확인해야 합니다."

South Carolina received an overall rating of “Needs Improvement” based on its performance in five areas:

– 주에서 종이 투표용지나 모든 투표 기록이 필요한가요? (컴퓨터 오류나 인적 오류로 인해 기계에서 계산 오류가 발생하면 선거 관리자는 원래 투표용지를 사용하여 정확한 총계를 결정할 수 있습니다. 또한 종이 투표용지를 사용하여 기계 계산을 감사할 수 있습니다.)

– 주정부는 기계 고장 발생 시 각 투표소에 적절한 대응 계획을 갖고 있습니까?

– 국가는 표시된 투표용지가 온라인으로 투표되지 않도록 보장함으로써 군인 및 해외 유권자와 그들의 투표용지를 변경, 조작 및 개인 정보 침해로부터 보호합니까?

– 주정부는 전자적으로 보고된 결과가 정확한지 확인하기 위해 선거 후 감사를 실시했습니까?

– 주정부는 투표가 지역 단위에서 주 단위로 집계되고 집계될 때 투표용지가 분실되거나 추가되지 않도록 강력한 투표용지 조정 및 집계 관행을 사용하고 있습니까?

In addition to South Carolina, five other states were ranked near the bottom of the list – Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi – while five states were ranked near the top – Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin.

“No vote should be lost in 2012,” said Penny Venetis, co-director of the Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic. “Technology exists to verify votes, and procedures could be in place around the country to make sure that every vote is counted, as the constitution requires.”

Election Day is more than three months away, and that leaves time for states like South Carolina to make simple changes in some of the categories ranked by the study.