AN EVALUATION OF MARYLAND'S NEW VOTING MACHINE
AN EVALUATION OF MARYLAND'S NEW VOTING MACHINE
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Date
2003-01-21
Authors
Herrnson, Paul S.
Bederson, Benjamin B.
Advisor
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Abstract
Four counties in Maryland used new touch screen voting machines in the 2002
elections, replacing their mechanical lever and punch card voting systems with
the AccuVote-TS touch screen voting machine manufactured by Diebold Election
Systems. The Center for American Politics and Citizenship (CAPC) and the
Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) at the University of Maryland conducted an
exit poll in Montgomery and Prince George's counties to evaluate the performance
of the new voting machines.
In this second of two reports prepared by CAPC and HCIL on the new voting
machines, we found that most voters like the new voting machines and trust them
to accurately record their votes. However, a significant number of voters still
have concerns about the new machines, many needed help using them, and some
continue to report technical problems with the machines. Voters who do not
frequently use computers or have not attended college had the most difficulty
using the machines.
Major Findings:
* Seven percent of voters felt that the touch screen voting
machine was not easy to use, compared to 93 percent who felt it was easy to use
or held a neutral opinion.
* Nine percent of voters did not trust the touch screen voting
machine, compared to with 91 percent who did. Only 70 percent trusted the
mechanical lever or punch card system they previously used.
* Three percent of voters reported encountering technical problems
with the new machines.
* Nine percent of the voters asked for and 17 percent received
assistance using the new machine.
* More than one-quarter of the voters who use computers once a
month or less received assistance using the voting machine.
* One-third of voters who have not attended college received
assistance using the voting machine.
* Voters in Prince George's County found the election judges to be
more helpful than did voters in Montgomery County.
Four counties in Maryland used new touch screen voting machines in the 2002
elections. Alleghany, Dorchester, Montgomery, and Prince George's replaced their
mechanical lever and punch card voting systems with the AccuVote-TS touch screen
voting machine manufactured by Diebold Election Systems. All 24 of Maryland's
counties will purchase AccuVote-TS voting machines by 2006.
The University of Maryland conducted an exit poll in Montgomery and Prince
George's Counties to assess the performance of the new voting machine. Our
sample included 1,276 respondents from 22 precincts in the two counties. The
response rate was 74.6 percent.
(UMIACS-TR-2002-107)
(HCIL-TR-2002-25)