Prominent Democrat Praises Jaeger Run Elections

N.D. 2006 elections glitch-free
By Lloyd Omdahl
The Forum - 05/29/2007

The 2006 mid-term election turned up scores of problems in the new voting systems implemented by states and counties under the federal “Help America Vote Act” passed in 2002 following the disastrous presidential election in Florida. Seventeen states reported major glitches in their new voting systems.

Florida is now in the process of dumping its touch-screen system for paper ballots. The Denver election commissioner resigned following a complete breakdown in many precincts. In Florida, Texas and Ohio, the voting machines were casting votes for the wrong candidates. In Texas, the centralized voter records system has so many flaws that registration officials in 200 counties want to get out of the process.

These frequent reports of election foul-ups have made citizens skeptical of the entire process, even in states that have experienced no difficulties. An undercurrent of alarm is spreading as another crucial presidential election approaches.

In response to the widespread failures, Congress is proposing new legislation requiring that electronic voting systems include printers able to create a paper trail for validating election results. Validation has become a major concern since some machines have malfunctioned and vendors have refused to provide officials with adequate reliability checks.

While the rest of the country is mired in an electoral morass, North Dakota has been scandal free in its implementation of the federal legislation, due largely to the insightful leadership of Secretary of State Al Jaeger.

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