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American Morning

Georgia Enters the Electronic Voting Age

Aired November 05, 2002 - 10:34   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: All across America, Americans heading to the polls, but in one state, even high-profile candidates in the race are having to share the spotlight with a rising political star, and that is technology. Every precinct in Georgia is outfitted today with touchscreen voting machines, and that makes it the first state to adopt a uniformed electronic voting system.
Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, with more.

Gary, happy Election Day to you.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, a very happy Election Day to you, too. And this is the machine in question, this is the machine being used throughout the state of Georgia, very easy. Press the cast your ballot button. After casting your ballot, your card pops out and you're in business; 22,000 machines throughout the state. And you can see over here eight of them, and they're all full of people voting right now. Looks like they're playing video games. Two of the ladies who just finished are standing right next to me, because we want to get some expert opinion how these machines are working.

This is Shirley. This is Evelyn. They both live here in Dunwoody, Georgia. Shirley, how did your voting experience go? A little different than casting your ballot with an X, which we all used to do years ago, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely different. I am not techno, and this went along just very smooth.

TUCHMAN: I picked you because I though you were a technowizard. You're not, you're telling me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, never do anything on the computer. Maybe once in my life.

TUCHMAN: It was easy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're saying it was easy. It was very east, as long as you can read. And I made a mistake and I had to go back, and I was very proud of myself.

TUCHMAN: That's one of the things, if you make a mistake, you can go back, cancel the vote, and revote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I found that out when I was reviewing. At the end of the time, it tells you, what are you doing, and I said, I didn't vote for this guy, and I guess my fingernail hit the wrong one.

TUCHMAN: This sounds like a commercial for video voting.

Evelyn might not be as much as an advocate, because Evelyn's husband -- and I want to talk about Evelyn's husband for a second, started a video voting and the machine went dark. What happened there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wires in the back of the machine were loose, and it started to run on the battery, and then the battery gave out.

TUCHMAN: So the socket was a little loose, they fixed it, and the machine is now OK. So it wasn't a minor problem?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Minor, minor.

TUCHMAN: How did your vote go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a piece of cake. I keep my golf score and a club on a touch computer, and it's just great.

TUCHMAN: You kept your golf score on this computer?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish I could.

TUCHMAN: But your voting experience went OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Piece of cake.

TUCHMAN: Nothing hard about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, and everybody can do it. Everybody.

TUCHMAN: Ladies, thank you for talking with us. Good luck to both of you. We want to tell you the state of Georgia is telling us no major problems across the state right now in the 159 counties that are all using this same touchscreen voting machine.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Gary, there's two parts of this. It's good to hear smooth sailing from the two ladies you talked with, but what about security, and how do I know when I go to vote later and I put that card in, the state of Georgia hasn't made a nice little record of who I voted for?

TUCHMAN: Well, I'm glad you brought that up, Daryn, because this card, the voter access card, actually doesn't have your vote on it. This is literally just a card to unlock the machine and allow you to vote. When I'm done voting, I give this card back and they give it to another voter. Your votes are in the machines themselves. There are some people who are concerned that there's no paper trail of their votes, but the people who make these machines and elections officials throughout the United States, because although this is the only state that uses all machine, other states do use machines in some counties, they say this is as secure or more secure than any voting you've done in the past.

KAGAN: I had a chance to speak with Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox last night, and she was explaining to me, this isn't a network, but each individual machine runs on its own. That women's husband, that machine might have gone done, but it doesn't affect the machine next to you, or at the whole precinct.

TUCHMAN: Exactly right, each individual machine has its own votes, and it's not to a central network. They tabulate each individual machine when the polling ends tonight. 7:00 Eastern Time here in Georgia.

KAGAN: All right. Gary, have you voted?

TUCHMAN: I haven't voted, yet, Daryn, but I am a good citizen, and I will before the day is over.

KAGAN: All right, you get around to that, don't get it. Gary Tuchman, thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 5, 2002 - 10:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All across America, Americans heading to the polls, but in one state, even high-profile candidates in the race are having to share the spotlight with a rising political star, and that is technology. Every precinct in Georgia is outfitted today with touchscreen voting machines, and that makes it the first state to adopt a uniformed electronic voting system.
Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, with more.

Gary, happy Election Day to you.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, a very happy Election Day to you, too. And this is the machine in question, this is the machine being used throughout the state of Georgia, very easy. Press the cast your ballot button. After casting your ballot, your card pops out and you're in business; 22,000 machines throughout the state. And you can see over here eight of them, and they're all full of people voting right now. Looks like they're playing video games. Two of the ladies who just finished are standing right next to me, because we want to get some expert opinion how these machines are working.

This is Shirley. This is Evelyn. They both live here in Dunwoody, Georgia. Shirley, how did your voting experience go? A little different than casting your ballot with an X, which we all used to do years ago, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely different. I am not techno, and this went along just very smooth.

TUCHMAN: I picked you because I though you were a technowizard. You're not, you're telling me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, never do anything on the computer. Maybe once in my life.

TUCHMAN: It was easy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're saying it was easy. It was very east, as long as you can read. And I made a mistake and I had to go back, and I was very proud of myself.

TUCHMAN: That's one of the things, if you make a mistake, you can go back, cancel the vote, and revote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I found that out when I was reviewing. At the end of the time, it tells you, what are you doing, and I said, I didn't vote for this guy, and I guess my fingernail hit the wrong one.

TUCHMAN: This sounds like a commercial for video voting.

Evelyn might not be as much as an advocate, because Evelyn's husband -- and I want to talk about Evelyn's husband for a second, started a video voting and the machine went dark. What happened there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wires in the back of the machine were loose, and it started to run on the battery, and then the battery gave out.

TUCHMAN: So the socket was a little loose, they fixed it, and the machine is now OK. So it wasn't a minor problem?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Minor, minor.

TUCHMAN: How did your vote go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a piece of cake. I keep my golf score and a club on a touch computer, and it's just great.

TUCHMAN: You kept your golf score on this computer?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish I could.

TUCHMAN: But your voting experience went OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Piece of cake.

TUCHMAN: Nothing hard about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, and everybody can do it. Everybody.

TUCHMAN: Ladies, thank you for talking with us. Good luck to both of you. We want to tell you the state of Georgia is telling us no major problems across the state right now in the 159 counties that are all using this same touchscreen voting machine.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Gary, there's two parts of this. It's good to hear smooth sailing from the two ladies you talked with, but what about security, and how do I know when I go to vote later and I put that card in, the state of Georgia hasn't made a nice little record of who I voted for?

TUCHMAN: Well, I'm glad you brought that up, Daryn, because this card, the voter access card, actually doesn't have your vote on it. This is literally just a card to unlock the machine and allow you to vote. When I'm done voting, I give this card back and they give it to another voter. Your votes are in the machines themselves. There are some people who are concerned that there's no paper trail of their votes, but the people who make these machines and elections officials throughout the United States, because although this is the only state that uses all machine, other states do use machines in some counties, they say this is as secure or more secure than any voting you've done in the past.

KAGAN: I had a chance to speak with Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox last night, and she was explaining to me, this isn't a network, but each individual machine runs on its own. That women's husband, that machine might have gone done, but it doesn't affect the machine next to you, or at the whole precinct.

TUCHMAN: Exactly right, each individual machine has its own votes, and it's not to a central network. They tabulate each individual machine when the polling ends tonight. 7:00 Eastern Time here in Georgia.

KAGAN: All right. Gary, have you voted?

TUCHMAN: I haven't voted, yet, Daryn, but I am a good citizen, and I will before the day is over.

KAGAN: All right, you get around to that, don't get it. Gary Tuchman, thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com