Counting votes right still key to democracy

Utah's system has some holes. For instance, anyone who has voted previously in a precinct doesn't have to show identification to receive a ballot. A new federal law requires only first-time voters, or those voting for the first time in a particular precinct, to show I.D. People die and people move. While the rolls are purged regularly, federal law requires a cumbersome process to remove someone who has moved but not registered elsewhere.

Utah officials say it would be difficult, and quite time consuming, to get away with wholesale fraud by voting under someone else's name. This is true, unless an election judge or two were corrupt. Add computers and electronics to the mix, however, and my guess is it will get easier.

But the truth is, Utah's punch-card system has functioned remarkably well. Yes, it has produced some problems. In 1996, Salt Lake County had to do a massive recount of its general election ballots because of hanging chads. In 1998, Utah's 13th Senate district had to be recounted because the margin was too close for comfort. The recount covered parts of both Tooele and Salt Lake counties, and a mysterious 1,001 ballots cast in Tooele County failed to register votes in that race. But those were relatively minor problems.

Consider that in three recent races within Salt Lake County, where only two or three votes separated two candidates, recounts came up with the exact same totals as the first count. Even County Clerk Sherrie Swenson was amazed by that.

In short, there is no reason to rush for change.

Utah isn't the only state moving slowly into the new century. California dropped its plans for electronic voting this year. This, according to the Christian Science Monitor, came after a March primary in which malfunctions led to countless voters being unable to cast ballots, while in one county the machines were programmed wrong, causing people to vote in the wrong races.

Democracy isn't an exact science, but there is too much at stake to get things wrong.

Yes, there are differences between 1948 and today. An omnipresent media is looking for troubles, for one thing. But if the men in that old photo tell me anything, it is that any changes to the way we count ballots needs to be done slowly and carefully.

---

Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com