Voting Machine Test Is Delayed

Voting Machine Test Is Delayed

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 13 (AP) - A dry run of electronic voting machines scheduled for Tuesday in Palm Beach County had to be postponed until Friday because heat caused a computer server that tabulates data from the touch-screen machines to crash, according to the county elections supervisor, Theresa LePore.

The incident in Palm Beach County, known for its hanging and pregnant chads in the 2000 presidential election, did not directly involve the touch-screen terminals on which nearly one in three voters in the United States will cast ballots on Nov. 2.

But critics of the machines said it proved how fickle any computer-based voting system could be and highlighted the need for touch-screens to produce paper records.