Audit all elections

A recent report by New York University's Brennan Center for Justice concluded it would be relatively easy for someone with sophisticated technical expertise and access to software to change the outcome of a close election that uses electronic machines.

While the companies that make such machines were quick to counter those findings, as one would expect, a chief recommendation of the report makes a lot of sense — require audits of all elections.

Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert deserves credit this week for saying he intends to do just that. Sometime this summer, an audit committee he selects will conduct a survey of last week's primary election to make sure the votes counted were the same as the votes cast. Most likely, this will involve a random comparison of printed ballots with electronic tallies.

For the most part, Utah's electronic voting system, on machines built by Diebold Elections Systems, seemed a success last week. The machines are simple to understand and give voters a chance to verify their choices and make changes before submitting ballots. They also provide disabled people an easier way to vote than did the old punch ballot system.

But there can be no doubt that election integrity is vital to a democracy, or that new voting systems ought to be closely monitored in order to maintain a high degree of public trust. Diebold machines have caused a great deal of controversy in other states. The safest way to maintain trust is to conduct regular and thorough audits.

Herbert faces one huge obstacle in carrying out his plan — money. For some reason, Utah lawmakers never thought to appropriate funds for audits of electronic voting. That should be remedied quickly. In a season when Utah is flush with budget surpluses, there is no excuse for not appropriating the relatively insignificant amounts needed to make sure elections are conducted properly.

Last week's primary was not without problems. Some voting cards weren't programmed correctly. After the election, tabulations took much longer than expected, and the state's Web site had some technical problems.

Those were relatively minor glitches. But November's election will have a much larger turnout.

It's too late to turn back to the old way of voting. Nor would that be desirable. Punch ballots weren't always accurate. But the brave new world of electronic voting will require close and regular scrutiny.