Towards a better voting system

LOS ANGELES, DEC. 15. Two of the U.S.'s top technology institutes have joined forces to develop a uniform U.S voting system, saying the nation that put man on the moon should be able to accurately count ballots.

A day after the conclusion of one of the most divisive presidential elections in U.S. history, experts from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced a project to come up with a reliable, secure and modestly priced balloting system. ``A nation that can send a man to the moon, that can put a reliable ATM machine on every corner, has no excuse not to employ a reliable, affordable and easy to use voting system,'' the MIT president, Mr. Charles Vest, told a news conference at Caltech in suburban Pasadena. ``America needs a uniform balloting procedure. This has become painfully obvious in the current national election,'' said Mr. Vest.

The two schools have received a $ 250,000 grant from the New York-based Carnegie Corporation. They aim to complete a preliminary plan within six months to develop completely new voting machines by the next presidential election in 2004. The institutions joined several U.S. States, including the 2000 election battle ground of Florida, that have publicly committed to reforming a system beset by antiquated or unreliable machinery.

The Caltech president, Mr. David Baltimore, said he conceived the idea while watching the election recount battles in Florida between Mr. George W. Bush and Mr. Al Gore.

The project will look at the plethora of voting systems used in the 50 States, and will include a study of technological innovations such as Internet voting and electronic machines. Mr. Baltimore said one option might involve electronic machines similar to automatic tellers used by banks. ``It's secure, safe and reliable and we are willing to give our money to it, which is even more important than our vote to some people,'' he said.

- Reuters

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Section  : International
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