Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Should the United States Move to Electronic Voting? Edited by Diane Andrews Henningfeld. Detroit, Mich.: Greenhaven Press Thomson Gale, 2008. 1 vol. 111 p. $29.95. ISBN 10: 0-7377-3882-0; 13: 978-0-7377-3882-7.

When it took weeks after the election to declare a presidential winner in 2000, Congress decided to fix what was broken and passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). When most interpreted the bill to mean a change to direct-recording electronic voting machines (DREs), states immediately began replacing old voting machines. The issue of the debate is the reliability of DREs. Beginning with an overview of electronic voting, "Electronic Voting Machines Are Reliable, Accurate, and Secure" is followed by both sides of "Electric Voting Machines Can Be Easily Hacked," "Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails Will Make Electronic Voting More Secure?" and "Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems Not Accessible for the Disabled." The final chapter proposes that "Electronic Voting Should Be Continued." Appendixes include Organizations to Contact. With a new election coming up soon, discussing these issues will be of interest in current events and a part of many other class discussions.