Maryland DRE voting machine problems leaves Edwards/Wynn race in limbo.

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/091406/wynn.html

<>But according to Aviel Rubin, a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University and author of Brave New Ballot: The Battle to Safeguard Democracy in the Age of Electronic Voting, the losing candidate could do little to contest the results because of the way they are tallied by Maryland’s electronic voting machines.i

“In Maryland there is nothing you can do because of the electronic voting machines,” he said. He explained that although provisional ballots can be recounted, they are a small percentage of the total number of votes cast, and the rest are recorded only electronically without a paper trail.i

Rubin, who spent the day at the polls as a judge Tuesday said although the election was not the “disaster” they experienced in other parts of the state, he indicated that the problems would influence the election.

He explained that as the electronic poll books, where voters signed in, crashed and the lines began to lengthen, many people left and did not come back.

The Wynn-Edwards race “is a good example of why you need a paper trail, ” he said.