Electronic Voting

The current position of LWVUS is based on a resolution passed at the 2006 Convention:

Whereas: Some LWVs have had difficulty applying the SARA Resolution (Secure, Accurate,

Recountable and Accessible) passed at the last Convention, and

Whereas: Paperless electronic voting systems are not inherently secure, can malfunction, and do

not provide a recuntable audit trail.

Therefore be it resolved that:

They employ a voter-verifiable paper ballot or other paper record, said paper being the official record of the voter’s intent.
The voter can verify, either by eye or with the aid of suitable devices for those who have impaired vision, that the paper ballot/record accurately reflects his or her intent.
Such verification takes place while the voter is still in the process of voting.
The paper ballot/record is used for audits and recounts.
The vote totals can be verified by an independent hand count of the paper ballot/record.
Routine audits of the paper ballot/record in randomly selected precincts can be conducted in every election, and the results published by the jurisdiction.

Related Resources:

The League of Women Voters was born from such a struggle. The 19th Amendment was finally included in the US Constitution on August 26, 1920

On February 14,1920, the League was formed on the premise that a nonpartisan civic organization could provide the education and experience the public needed to assure the success of democracy. Founder Carrie Chapman Catt exclaimed that the League was formed to “finish the fight” to win national woman suffrage. Yet within the struggle for the right to vote, we left some of our sisters behind when the 75-year fight for votes for women didn’t include securing these rights for women of color. And that struggle continued for decades until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

And now today, across the states, barriers to voting are being erected to disenfranchise communities of color, people of low-income, students, and people with disabilities. All eligible voters should be able to cast a ballot confidently, proudly, and without additional requirements that prevent them from voting. It is clear that the “fight” remains unfinished. From this vantage point, looking back while planning ahead, we’re committed to remembering and commemorating the accomplishments of all those who fought for our right to vote while advocating for voting reforms and defending democracy. And that the work of the League is needed as much now as it was at its founding.

League of Women Voters ^®
of Lorain County