Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Opinion

Pennsylvania's putting all its votes in one basket.

A recent report issued by Common Cause and the Verified Voting Foundation identified the Keystone State as one of 17 states at "high risk" for voting-machine problems.

The reason? While voting machines in Pa. are electronic, they don't produce a separate paper record of the votes. So if a voting machine's software crashes or malfunctions, it can be nearly impossible to recover a tally of the votes.

That's why state administrators should look into installing new voting machines that produce a paper trail. If something goes wrong, officials should be able to refer to a secondary record of the votes.

Pennsylvania's election officials contend that the lack of paper trails protects voter privacy. But fairness in elections is even more important - not only to individual voters but also to the entire nation. As a swing state in this year's competitive presidential race, Pennsylvania will play a crucial role in the general election. If 2000 taught us anything, it's that every vote truly does count.

Making the necessary improvements will certainly be expensive. But accurate election results are worth it.

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