Study - 29 percent of the electorate will use electronic voting systems in 2004

Election Data Services News Release, 02/12/04



Election Data Services recently reported that nearly 29 percent of the country is using electronic voting systems this year. Here's a rundown on the increased use of electronic voting systems:



1998 -- just under 9 percent of U.S. voters resided in e-voting jurisdictions

2000 -- 12.5 percent of voters resided in e-voting jurisdictions

2002 -- 19.6 percent of voters resided in e-voting jurisdictions

2004 - 28.9 percent of voters reside in e-voting jurisdictions



While there has been a steady increase in the number of jurisdictions using electronic voting systems, the increase has been slower than many observers anticipated in the wake of the 2000 Florida vote counting problems. Kimball Brace, author of the study, notes that 74.2 percent of U.S. voters will be using the same voting equipment this year as they did in 2000. "We are clearly seeing the impact of two major events on these changes," he says. "First, the fact that Congress and the President delayed the implementation and funding of HAVA and, second, the continued controversy over voter-verified ballots with electronic systems has led to a slowdown of changes throughout the United States."