If mistakes were made, voters could get a new ballot and vote again. Those ATM-like systems are slowly being introduced around the country. Though presidential and congressional elections are for federal offices, the federal government has little say over the voting process. Elections are run by counties, which feed into state election bureaucracies. Voting technologies are chosen by state election officials.
Counties then choose from the list of approved vendors.
To date, no federal regu lations set minimum standards for election technologies. That may change, said Washington, D.C., attorney Trevor Potter, a former FEC chairman. That would have the effect of excluding punch cards. Most officials have had little impetus to buy modern electronic voting equipment because, for one, the ATM-style systems are expensive, Potter said. Internet voting is comparatively cheap, and price may be one factor encouraging public officials to consider the technology, Potter believes.