Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Look at Election Technology
Aired November 01, 2002 - 10:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just a few days from now, voters will go to the polls across the country. They may not find, though, punch card ballots. Instead, there are some new -- it's talking. It's not your turn yet. There are some high tech machines. And we have Daniel Sieberg, our tech guy, to show us how they're used.
They decided they wanted to speak up.
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Right. They're ready to go. And, you know, in fact, perhaps the most apparent evidence we're going to see of some of the trouble that happened in 2000, everyone's familiar now with hanging chads...
KAGAN: Right.
SIEBERG: ... are these high tech voting machines. And more and more counties are using them. So we can start here with this one. This one is actually called --
KAGAN: Can I just point out, it was interesting to see, when you brought all these machines in, depending on where you are, you're going to get a different type of machine.
SIEBERG: That's right.
KAGAN: So we're going to take kind of a tour of the country right now.
SIEBERG: That's right. We're going to kind of do a little quick tour of the country. We'll point out one state that has the same technology in a minute when we get over to it.
KAGAN: OK.
SIEBERG: So we'll start with this one here. This is called the iVotronic. It's made by Elections Systems and Software. Now, people are probably going to remember Miami, Dade and Broward Counties from the recount that happened in Florida. They have actually decided to invest in this technology. It offers something that a few of the other machines offer, and that's a chance to choose your language when you start out, come into the polling booth. And actually one of the things you have to do with the machine, before you even get started, a polling worker has to give you this particular cartridge. You would pop that in, and that actually starts the machine in motion.
KAGAN: Makes it go. It kind of looks like I'm making copies at Kinkos. SIEBERG: It does. I remember that from my student days. And once you've done that, of course, the ballot would come up on the screen. You would just choose -- it's a touch screen and it also stops you from overvoting by changing it, depending on what you touch. And if you wanted to write something in, you can do that as well.
KAGAN: You can't do all of the above?
SIEBERG: Right, you can't do all of the above.
KAGAN: But you can do write in. OK. Who is going to be using this one?
SIEBERG: Now this one we're going to move on to, this is actually called the eSlate from Harris Inter Civic. The Houston metro area and Charlottesville, Virginia, will see this machine. You know, it looks like a Palm Pilot on steroids in a sense. It's a little different from the iVotronic, because instead of being a touch screen, it uses this dial here, down in the corner.
KAGAN: Now, you were going to try to give me a little quick lesson on how to use this.
SIEBERG: I will, yes. And instead of having this cartridge, when you register, you get a four-digit code. And we're going to just finish putting that in. Once you've typed this code in, then you actually -- it brings the ballot up. And I'll let you move in and start selecting you've got this code with.
KAGAN: OK. Now, one thing that's a little bit confusing about this, on this one, you actually touch the screen over here, in the Florida one. But this one, you don't touch the screen, or you can, but you have to use these little dials down here?
SIEBERG: Exactly. You can't actually touch the screen. The company says that that's partly done, because they prefer this method over the calibration method that's needed with the touch screen. Sort of make sure your finger is touching the exact location. They think this is a better technology. You know, both ways are being used around the country. And then once you've selected, you would push enter ...
KAGAN: If I wanted to vote for Harriet Tubman for Congress or senator -- enter
SIEBERG: You would push enter.
KAGAN: Enter.
SIEBERG: ...and then you'd just keep scrolling down to see how it -- the ones you couldn't chose.
KAGAN: Governor, vote for Mark Twain.
SIEBERG: Mark Twain. KAGAN: OK, you know when you actually get in there, it's not quite as confusing. It is a little intimidating, I think, to look at the panel...
SIEBERG: It can be.
KAGAN: But once you touch is.
Now, here's what I need to learn, because this is what Georgians are going to be using on Tuesday.
SIEBERG: Exactly. This is the Diebold. Diebold is a large manufacturer of ATM machines. And this is the -- Georgia is the only state that has this uniform touch screen technology in the entire country, the first and only. And it's a little bit different, because they give you this voter access card. So if you're coming into the polling station, they will give you this card once you register. Slide it in, very similar to an ATM machine.
KAGAN: You leave it in there?
SIEBERG: Pop it all the way in; you should hear it clerk.
KAGAN: I think I did.
SIEBERG: OK. There we go. And then once it's registering that card, it brings up the ballot information. Those are some instructions. And you just hit start...
KAGAN: Hit start.
SIEBERG: And then again, you have the ballot card that comes up, if you want to make your selections...
KAGAN: Who knew Gladys Knight was running here?
SIEBERG: You know, this is some fictional candidates, obviously. And a baseball theme there on the right. And then once you choose all of your candidates -- you can also skip ones of course, you don't have to choose all of them -- and then you just hit next, and then once you go to the next one, there are some issues here and you can just choose the yes or the no..
KAGAN: And we'll vote yes, no, yes, without even reading the ballot. How about that for responsible voting.
SIEBERG: Informed voting in action. And then once you've done that, you have a chance to review it. You can see what you've chosen. You can even go back and change it. And then you would hit cast ballot when you decide to virtually drop your ballot into the ballot box.
KAGAN: And then it pops the card out.
SIEBERG: And it pops out and you return that card to the polling official. So you're going to be a pro by the time you go into the polling station.
KAGAN: I'm very excited.
SIEBERG: And now this one here is very similar to that. This one's made by Sequoia, and it uses a smart card technology in much the same way that the Diebold one does. You slide it into the front of the machine. this is just the card activator. You slide it into the front of the machine like so, and it loads it in. Again, you would choose your language, choose all of your candidates and get to the end and review it. So it's used in much the same way. This one's actually -- we reported on this in 2000, it was used in Riverside County, California. So it's been around for a little while.
KAGAN: That's right, I remember that. How did it do?
SIEBERG: You know, I don't know to be honest how well it did, but I hear it did pretty well.
KAGAN: OK.
SIEBERG: So, we'll have to see. You know, a lot of them are going to be tested this election.
KAGAN: One more.
SIEBERG: All right. This is the last one, quickly. This one looks like a conventional voting booth, quite different.
KAGAN: This is New York?
SIEBERG: This is New York, because certain states, certain places require that you see the entire ballot rather than scrolling through or going screen by screen. In this one, there are sensors on the back that actually record what you're touching on this, this huge ballot that you have to see, legally, when you go into the polling station. Then, when you're done, you cast your ballot that way and it tells you you're finished. So all these machines cost roughly about $3,000. They even have -- some of them even have headphones and braille for people who are blind.
KAGAN: Good. Very interesting.
SIEBERG: Yes.
KAGAN: In the interest of full disclosure, as much as you know about technology, tell the viewers why you will not be voting on Tuesday.
SIEBERG: That's right. I am a Canadian citizen.
KAGAN: Oh, my god.
SIEBERG: So this is the closest I will come to voting this election year.
KAGAN: We have a Canadian teaching us Americans how to vote. SIEBERG: Yes, well.
KAGAN: OK. Well, we appreciate your technical advise.
SIEBERG: Yes, thanks.
Aired November 1, 2002 - 10:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just a few days from now, voters will go to the polls across the country. They may not find, though, punch card ballots. Instead, there are some new -- it's talking. It's not your turn yet. There are some high tech machines. And we have Daniel Sieberg, our tech guy, to show us how they're used.
They decided they wanted to speak up.
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Right. They're ready to go. And, you know, in fact, perhaps the most apparent evidence we're going to see of some of the trouble that happened in 2000, everyone's familiar now with hanging chads...
KAGAN: Right.
SIEBERG: ... are these high tech voting machines. And more and more counties are using them. So we can start here with this one. This one is actually called --
KAGAN: Can I just point out, it was interesting to see, when you brought all these machines in, depending on where you are, you're going to get a different type of machine.
SIEBERG: That's right.
KAGAN: So we're going to take kind of a tour of the country right now.
SIEBERG: That's right. We're going to kind of do a little quick tour of the country. We'll point out one state that has the same technology in a minute when we get over to it.
KAGAN: OK.
SIEBERG: So we'll start with this one here. This is called the iVotronic. It's made by Elections Systems and Software. Now, people are probably going to remember Miami, Dade and Broward Counties from the recount that happened in Florida. They have actually decided to invest in this technology. It offers something that a few of the other machines offer, and that's a chance to choose your language when you start out, come into the polling booth. And actually one of the things you have to do with the machine, before you even get started, a polling worker has to give you this particular cartridge. You would pop that in, and that actually starts the machine in motion.
KAGAN: Makes it go. It kind of looks like I'm making copies at Kinkos. SIEBERG: It does. I remember that from my student days. And once you've done that, of course, the ballot would come up on the screen. You would just choose -- it's a touch screen and it also stops you from overvoting by changing it, depending on what you touch. And if you wanted to write something in, you can do that as well.
KAGAN: You can't do all of the above?
SIEBERG: Right, you can't do all of the above.
KAGAN: But you can do write in. OK. Who is going to be using this one?
SIEBERG: Now this one we're going to move on to, this is actually called the eSlate from Harris Inter Civic. The Houston metro area and Charlottesville, Virginia, will see this machine. You know, it looks like a Palm Pilot on steroids in a sense. It's a little different from the iVotronic, because instead of being a touch screen, it uses this dial here, down in the corner.
KAGAN: Now, you were going to try to give me a little quick lesson on how to use this.
SIEBERG: I will, yes. And instead of having this cartridge, when you register, you get a four-digit code. And we're going to just finish putting that in. Once you've typed this code in, then you actually -- it brings the ballot up. And I'll let you move in and start selecting you've got this code with.
KAGAN: OK. Now, one thing that's a little bit confusing about this, on this one, you actually touch the screen over here, in the Florida one. But this one, you don't touch the screen, or you can, but you have to use these little dials down here?
SIEBERG: Exactly. You can't actually touch the screen. The company says that that's partly done, because they prefer this method over the calibration method that's needed with the touch screen. Sort of make sure your finger is touching the exact location. They think this is a better technology. You know, both ways are being used around the country. And then once you've selected, you would push enter ...
KAGAN: If I wanted to vote for Harriet Tubman for Congress or senator -- enter
SIEBERG: You would push enter.
KAGAN: Enter.
SIEBERG: ...and then you'd just keep scrolling down to see how it -- the ones you couldn't chose.
KAGAN: Governor, vote for Mark Twain.
SIEBERG: Mark Twain. KAGAN: OK, you know when you actually get in there, it's not quite as confusing. It is a little intimidating, I think, to look at the panel...
SIEBERG: It can be.
KAGAN: But once you touch is.
Now, here's what I need to learn, because this is what Georgians are going to be using on Tuesday.
SIEBERG: Exactly. This is the Diebold. Diebold is a large manufacturer of ATM machines. And this is the -- Georgia is the only state that has this uniform touch screen technology in the entire country, the first and only. And it's a little bit different, because they give you this voter access card. So if you're coming into the polling station, they will give you this card once you register. Slide it in, very similar to an ATM machine.
KAGAN: You leave it in there?
SIEBERG: Pop it all the way in; you should hear it clerk.
KAGAN: I think I did.
SIEBERG: OK. There we go. And then once it's registering that card, it brings up the ballot information. Those are some instructions. And you just hit start...
KAGAN: Hit start.
SIEBERG: And then again, you have the ballot card that comes up, if you want to make your selections...
KAGAN: Who knew Gladys Knight was running here?
SIEBERG: You know, this is some fictional candidates, obviously. And a baseball theme there on the right. And then once you choose all of your candidates -- you can also skip ones of course, you don't have to choose all of them -- and then you just hit next, and then once you go to the next one, there are some issues here and you can just choose the yes or the no..
KAGAN: And we'll vote yes, no, yes, without even reading the ballot. How about that for responsible voting.
SIEBERG: Informed voting in action. And then once you've done that, you have a chance to review it. You can see what you've chosen. You can even go back and change it. And then you would hit cast ballot when you decide to virtually drop your ballot into the ballot box.
KAGAN: And then it pops the card out.
SIEBERG: And it pops out and you return that card to the polling official. So you're going to be a pro by the time you go into the polling station.
KAGAN: I'm very excited.
SIEBERG: And now this one here is very similar to that. This one's made by Sequoia, and it uses a smart card technology in much the same way that the Diebold one does. You slide it into the front of the machine. this is just the card activator. You slide it into the front of the machine like so, and it loads it in. Again, you would choose your language, choose all of your candidates and get to the end and review it. So it's used in much the same way. This one's actually -- we reported on this in 2000, it was used in Riverside County, California. So it's been around for a little while.
KAGAN: That's right, I remember that. How did it do?
SIEBERG: You know, I don't know to be honest how well it did, but I hear it did pretty well.
KAGAN: OK.
SIEBERG: So, we'll have to see. You know, a lot of them are going to be tested this election.
KAGAN: One more.
SIEBERG: All right. This is the last one, quickly. This one looks like a conventional voting booth, quite different.
KAGAN: This is New York?
SIEBERG: This is New York, because certain states, certain places require that you see the entire ballot rather than scrolling through or going screen by screen. In this one, there are sensors on the back that actually record what you're touching on this, this huge ballot that you have to see, legally, when you go into the polling station. Then, when you're done, you cast your ballot that way and it tells you you're finished. So all these machines cost roughly about $3,000. They even have -- some of them even have headphones and braille for people who are blind.
KAGAN: Good. Very interesting.
SIEBERG: Yes.
KAGAN: In the interest of full disclosure, as much as you know about technology, tell the viewers why you will not be voting on Tuesday.
SIEBERG: That's right. I am a Canadian citizen.
KAGAN: Oh, my god.
SIEBERG: So this is the closest I will come to voting this election year.
KAGAN: We have a Canadian teaching us Americans how to vote. SIEBERG: Yes, well.
KAGAN: OK. Well, we appreciate your technical advise.
SIEBERG: Yes, thanks.
