"Empirical evidence of these voter sentiments came in February 2003 when the University of Georgia's Car Vinson Institute of Government released the results of an independent poll showing...that 97% of respondents reported that they had no difficulties using the new touch screen voting terminals...

The Vinson Institute's survey, which polled 800 randomly selected adults and is projected to have a margin of error of +/- 3.5%, demonstrates that voters found the equipment easy to use."

July 2003 - Cathy Cox, JD 

"In a field study of voting systems similar to some of those used in the November 2004 elections, most participants had favorable impressions of the system, felt comfortable with the system, found it easy to read, were able to correct mistakes, and trusted that the votes were counted correctly."

2005 - Harry Hochheiser, PhD 

"The June 27 primary marked the first time most voters in the state used the [electronic voting] machines, and anecdotal reports indicated that the balloting went smoothly. The exit poll, conducted by Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, reported that voters in Utah's 3rd Congressional District considered the machines easy to use and an improvement over punchcard voting.

'Overwhelmingly, voters are very positive about the new equipment' said Quin Monson, an assistant professor of political science at BYU... Of those who participated in the poll, 96.8 percent said they had 'no problem' using the voting machines, and 88.4 percent either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that they were easy to use."

July 6, 2006 - The Daily Herald (Utah) 

"Data show that voters prefer electronic voting because it is easy to use, thus increasing voter confidence. According to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, a recent survey found that 98% of the voters considered their electronic voting system 'superior' or 'very superior' to any voting system they had ever used before...

A Solano County, California, survey of 14,500 voters showed that 97% of the voters found the new touch screens easy to use; 86% liked touch screen systems more than punch card systems."

May 5, 2004 - National Council of La Raza 

"Across the county on Election Day, voters who had the opportunity to cast their vote on Diebold AccuVote touch-screen systems raved about the ease and speed of the high-tech process, and election officials received positive feedback from throughout the electorate...

'We were extremely pleased with the ease of use of the system, which was especially important considering this was the first time the system was used by poll workers and voters throughout Lorain County (Ohio),' stated Marilyn Jacobcik, director of elections, Lorain County Board of Elections."

Nov. 10, 2005 - Diebold Election Systems, Inc. 

"[Electronic voting] systems offer the promise of faster and more accurate voting, but the current reality is that they are fraught with usability and systemic problems...

When asked to report their overall impressions about using the system (rated between difficult and easy-to-use), 80 percent of the respondents reported the system was easy to use (rated 8 or 9), 10 percent reported it was moderately easy to use (rated 7), and the remaining 10 percent indicated it was anywhere from difficult to somewhat challenging to use (rated from 1 to 6)...

These systems have promise, but the bottom line is that about 10% of the voters we talked to had significant concerns. While 90% satisfaction may be acceptable for some usability studies, we feel strongly that digital government initiatives in general, and voting systems in particular must have higher standards. With important national elections being decided by less than 1% of the voters, leaving 10% unconfident about their vote is a major problem."

Oct. 2002 - Benjamin Bederson, PhD 

"A large number of malfunctions and election messes are blamed on 'human error.' Of course all of them are human error, if you include the programmers and designers of the equipment, but even limiting our discussion to voter error and poll worker error points to a severe problem with the machines. If equipment is so complicated to use that poll workers and voters make so many errors, can it really be called 'usable?' I don't think so. The complexity actually becomes one more way that voters are disenfranchised by the computerized machines. We all know that using a new software program is a challenging and error-prone activity, and now voters are expected to do exactly that on election day."

June 3, 2006 - Ellen Theisen, MA 

"Voters reported that the iVotronic [a model of DRE] touch screens registered selections for candidates that the voters had not intended to select. If voters rest their hands or thumbs on or near the edge of the touch screen, then the voting machine can register a selection where none was intended...

Other voters in New Mexico, Texas, and Florida have reported serious problems when attempting to select individual candidates or to vote a straight party ticket. Many voters reported that when they attempted to select one candidate or party, the machine instead registered a choice for a different candidate or party. Voters reported having to make repeated attempts to get the voting machines to finally register their intended selection...

Bernalillo County [New Mexico] County Clerk Mary Herrera said she doesn't believe the touch-screen system has been making mistakes. It's the fault of the voters, she said Thursday... 'They are touch screens. People are touching them with their palms, or leaning their hand... They're hitting the wrong button.'"

Nov. 1, 2004 - Bob Kibrick 

"The mechanics of voting on these [electronic voting] machines are often confusing. It is often not obvious how to undo a selection, how to check that all races have been voted, how to distinguish between the offices, and how to register the votes. Some interfaces are 'too responsive': a voter can push a button for the next page and more than one page will pass by without the voter seeing it."

2001 - Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project