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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Vote of Confidence?"
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READER SCRIPT
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A TOUCHY ELECTION... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.
ELECTRONIC TOUCH-SCREEN BALLOTS: THE FUTURE OF VOTING TECHNOLOGY
IS AT OUR FINGERTIPS. BUT, IS IT RELIABLE? WE'VE BEEN
HEARING A LOT ABOUT MAKING ELECTRONIC VOTING HACKER-PROOF. BUT, A
NEW STUDY HINTS THAT VOTER ERROR MAY ACTUALLY BE A BIGGER ISSUE.
THE MOST-COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF ITS KIND--LED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF
MARYLAND--TESTED THE SHEER USABILITY AND ACCURACY OF SIX
DIFFERENT
NEW AND EXISTING ELECTRONIC-VOTING TECHNOLOGIES; 15-HUNDRED REAL VOTERS
TRIED THEM OUT. COMBINED WITH EXPERT INTERVIEWS AND LAB TESTING,
THE STUDY'S KEY RESULT IS THAT THE OVERALL ACCURACY OF THE SYSTEMS
TESTED IS 97-PERCENT. WHILE BETTER THAN OLD METHODS, THAT
THREE-PERCENT IS STILL TOO HIGH FOR TODAY'S CLOSE-CALL ELECTIONS.
IN SOME CASES, VOTERS UNINTENTIONALLY VOTED FOR THE WRONG CANDIDATE--AND
THE ACCURACY RATE DROPPED EVEN MORE WHEN VOTERS TRIED TO MAKE CHANGES,
OR VOTE A STRAIGHT PARTY-TICKET. THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT
SIMPLE IS GOOD--AND THAT NAVIGABLE SCREENS WITH BIG FONTS SEEM TO WORK
BETTER. PROBABLY THE BIGGEST HURDLE TO ELECTRONIC VOTING IS SIMPLE
HUMAN ERROR; ANYTHING TO HELP REDUCE THAT GETS MY VOTE. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU
BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT
"N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR
ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
