Voting System Failures: A Database Solution
Failed voting machines, frustrated voters and lost votes: these have been a constant in news reports following every recent major election cycle. The voting systems used in the United States today are complicated machines; each runs on tens of thousands of lines of software code. As with automobiles and airplanes, automatic garage door openers and lawnmowers, occasional malfunctions are inevitable – even after rigorous product testing.
However when it comes to system failures, voting machines are different from automobiles and airplanes, and other products, in at least one important respect: for the vast majority of voting systems in use today, (1) manufacturers are not required to report malfunctions to any government agency, and (2) there is no agency that either investigates such alleged failures or alerts election officials and the general public to possible problems (let alone requires voting system manufacturers to fix such problems).
This study uncovers the fact that election officials and the public are often completely reliant on the private companies that sell and service this voting equipment and related service contracts to voluntarily keep them aware of potential problems with those systems.
The Brennan Center reviewed hundreds of reports of problems with voting systems in the last eight years, and closely studied fourteen of them. Their findings show the need for a national, searchable database to collect and disseminate information on system defects.
Click here to read the full report, Voting System Failures: A Database Solution.
