Can Voting Machines Work?

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Rather than waiting for results to be contested, some states are requiring election officials to conduct random samples of electronic results next week and compare them with the paper printouts. Minnesota's secretary of state, Mary Kiffmeyer, plans to audit the tally from two precincts in each of her state's 87 counties to make sure the electronic tabulation matches the paper trail. Audits, says Kiffmeyer, "just build confidence." In Los Angeles County, officials aren't waiting for the election to start running their tests. They will soon conduct random audits of 5% of the devices used in early voting, which began in earnest last week.

County election officials who spoke to TIME reported that most of the fears they field about the new machines come from Democrats, who have not won a national election in three cycles. It may be that a solid Democratic win in 2006 will allay some of their worries. It follows, of course, that if the Republicans lose, they will take up the charge. In fact, that's already happening in some places this year.

In a country of 300 million, it is far preferable for partisans, poll workers, defensive voting-machine manufacturers and voters to adjust to the new technologies, eliminate their weak spots and work to keep human errors to a minimum. In that way, voting by machine may someday be no more mysterious than making a visit to the ATM.