E-Voting Problems Are Mostly User Error, Says ITAA

Posted by timothy on Wednesday October 20, 2004 @12:13AM from the because-they've-built-the-perfect-user-interface dept.

grcumb writes "InfoWorld is carrying a story today which mentions a press kit being distributed by the Information Technology Association of America. Its purpose? To 'help journalists put election equipment-related snafus in context.' Most e-voting problems, they insist, are [l]user issues, where people who don't know how to deal with the new technology cause delays as they seek assistance. They don't seem to feel the need for journalists to understand basic system design issues (like making sure your computer and human processes work), why testing didn't identify these problems, nor why this is better than paper ballots."

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Re:Ummm.... by Zachary+Kessin · 2004-10-20 00:24 · Score: 5, Informative

I really think the old paper balots where the best bet. When I lived in New Hampshire you filled in a paper balot and they fed it into a machine to be counted. (Think SAT tests here). THe computer counted it, but if they had to I am sure that they could re-do it by hand.

It was easy, cheap and low tech. I really think much of this e-voting a solution looking for a problem.

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