Louisiana’s preparations for potential voting problems on election day have been termed “inadequate” in a new report.

Is America Ready to Vote? Preparations for Voting Machine Problems in 2008, a report released October 16 by the Brennan Center for Justice, ranks Louisiana as inadequate in the following areas:

• Having no state-mandated requirement for emergency paper ballots to be available in precincts that use voting machines;
• Not having software independent voter-verifiable paper records for all voters;
• Having inadequate preparation for voter-verifiable paper records for post-election audits.

The Brennan Center report states, “There is widespread agreement among security experts that some form of independent voter-verified record is critical for voting system security; voter verified records also provide a check against potential electronic miscounts… We urge each state to take steps necessary to insure that inevitable voting machine problems do not undermine either the individual right to vote, or our ability to accurately count each vote cast.”

Citizens who want their votes to count should back this report, urging Louisiana to print back-up paper ballots if that step is necessary to ensure the integrity of this election.