Gibbs said his system is built on an auditing model to eliminate the three key problems of the 2000 presidential election — undervotes, overvotes and uncounted votes.
He noted that one study found that as many as 2 million votes were not counted in the 2000 election.
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Vote system provides receipt, verification that your vote was countedby Larry Bivins, The Tennessean [Nashville, TN]
Dec. 14, 2003
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WASHINGTON — Nashville businessman Athan Gibbs says he was more interested in serving democracy than making money when he began creating a system to address the 2000 Florida presidential vote debacle.
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Today, about 36 months and $2 million later, Gibbs is positioning his company, TruVote International Inc., to take advantage of a second wave of election reform stemming from problems in Florida that delayed the result of the presidential election for 35 days. The push could produce a financial boon for his startup company.
"Really, the sky's the limit," said Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, a co-sponsor of legislation that seeks greater accountability in voting systems. "It could be one of the greatest American dream stories ever told. If his technology hits, it's going to hit big."
Gibbs, 57, is the inventor of TruVote Voter Validation and Verification System, which includes a computerized touch-screen voting machine that provides voters with a receipt. Using an identification number on the receipt, voters can verify later by computer or touch- tone telephone that their vote was recorded.
A Memphis native, Gibbs said that as a black voter with an auditing background, he was compelled to act after the 2000 Florida vote, in which scores of blacks and other minorities complained that they were disenfranchised.
Gibbs said he voted for Al Gore and was upset that he had to endure more than a month of turmoil before finding out who won the presidency, ultimately decided by the Supreme Court in favor of George W. Bush.
"After seeing this for 35 days, I said, 'Look, there's got to be a better way,' " Gibbs said. "I set out to develop a system that would allow us to instantly determine who was elected president."
Gibbs has demonstrated his Microsoft-backed system all over the country, including Lakeland, Tenn. The system has been tested and certified by the National Association of State Election Directors and approved for sale in Mississippi, Gibbs said. TruVote also has gained certification in Arkansas and Ohio, he said. He recently showed off his system to California election officials and the Florida Democratic Party's black caucus.
"My objective simply was to write an audit program and pass it on," said Gibbs, an accountant and auditor for more than 30 years. "But I started investing money and it grew and grew."
Gibbs' investment could reap huge dividends as a growing list of state and federal officials want to beef up election reform measures spelled out in a 2002 law that was a response to the Florida fiasco. The law provided millions of dollars to states to replace outdated election systems such as the chad-producing punch-card machines that were used in Florida. Many states began purchasing electronic vote machines.
But lawmakers and some state election officials complain that electronic voting doesn't provide a paper trail.
And a study this summer concluded that electronic voting machines were susceptible to security breaks and fraud.
That study led officials in Maryland and Ohio to postpone the purchase of millions of dollars worth of electronic voting equipment. In California, the secretary of state has ordered that, as of July 2005, all new electronic voting machines must be capable of providing paper records.
At the federal level, Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., has introduced a bill that would require all electronic voting machines to provide a paper trail. The measure is co-sponsored by Cooper and 94 other lawmakers.
Holt said he has talked to Gibbs about the TruVote system and believes it could provide the accountability his legislation seeks to achieve. "He has an accountant's mind and has thought about this in a very smart way," Holt said. "It would have to be modified slightly."
Gibbs said TruVote's program would require little tinkering to address the concerns of Holt and others, adding that his system is flexible and could be integrated with electronic voting systems already in use.
Former Rep. Bob Clement of Nashville recalled Gibbs' passion for fixing the voting process. He said Gibbs, who once worked for Clement as a financial analyst at the Tennessee Public Service Commission, has come up with a revolutionary system.
"I'll never forget how, after the last presidential race, he had this vision that we just have to do better in America to restore voter confidence," Clement said. "A lot of people have ideas, but don't put them on paper. He's been truly driven."
Gibbs said his system is built on an auditing model to eliminate the three key problems of the 2000 presidential election — undervotes, overvotes and uncounted votes. He noted that one study found that as many as 2 million votes were not counted in the 2000 election.
Gibbs estimated that so far he has invested $550,000 of personal money and $1.6 million from a team of supporters. The project got a boost when Microsoft lent its support. And National Cash Register has agreed to manufacture the equipment and provide system integration.
"One of the very exciting aspects of TruVote is it was developed by an African-American male, and African-Americans were the most disenfranchised in the 2000 election," said Winston Smith, director of vendor diversity for Microsoft. "So for him to have a solution that meets the goals of democracy in American society is just an amazing story."
Published by
The Tennessean [Nashville, TN]
This material is copyrighted by its original publisher.
It is reprinted by Unknown News without permission, solely for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting, in accordance with the Fair Use Guidelines of copyright material under § 107 of U.S.C. Title 17.
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