Pamela Smith, President of the Verified Voting Foundation, said that technologies such as Scantegrity do add an additional layer of integrity to the election process. But to a large extent, optical-scan voting machines already offer a relatively high degree of verification support. Because such machines save a record of the voter's intent, auditors can go back and verify results if necessary, she said.
The bigger issue in Maryland is that the state needs to adopt optical-scan systems on a larger scale, she said. Maryland is one of the few states that rely on touch-screen voting systems, which are costlier to operate and maintain than optical scan systems, she said.