E-Voting Machines Debated

Secretary of State Mike Coffman held a hearing Thursday to discuss the use of electronic voting machines in Colorado elections.

“As Colorado’s chief elections officer, I feel compelled to give all concerned voices my ear, listen to their concerns and take them under advisement as we move forward,” Coffman said.

Voter advocates, election officials and advocates for people with disabilities were among those testifying. E-voting machines have come under fire across the country as reports of the machines’ security flaws pile up.

Claudia Kuhns, executive director of the Public Integrity Project, went through a litany of problems that have been found with e-voting machines.

“Voting equipment should be accurate, accessible, secure, anonymous and verifiable. And direct recording electronic voting machines, or DRE’s, have been shown to be insecure, inaccurate, only partially accessible and unreliable,” Kuhns said.

She insisted the state not re-certify the machines used in November’s election.

“In order to regain confidence of voters in Colorado, we must return to paper ballots,” she said.

David Bolin, executive director of the Center for People with Disabilities, disagreed. He said e-voting machines have allowed many people with disabilities to vote on their own for the first time.

“That is the key to our democracy

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