News
Unisys, Dell, Microsoft Create Voting Infrastructure
- By Scott Bekker
- January 11, 2001
Swinging Chad’s fifteen minutes may be over for good.
Unisys Corp. announced yesterday that it would partner with
Microsoft Corp. and
Dell Computer Corp. to develop a computer-based voting infrastructure.
According to the companies, the recent presidential
election highlighted the need for reliable, modern voting systems, and an
infrastructure based around Unisys, Microsoft, and Dell products provide an
ideal solution.
Unisys e-@ction Election
Solutions combine nascent technologies like smart cards, biometrics, digital
vote recording, and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server for a voting procedure
intended to be secure and robust.
The state of Minnesota used Unisys technology to speed
the reporting of presidential caucuses. Caucus votes were recorded and tallied
via a computer system. A web-based reporting system allowed users to access the
results in real time.
Many states rely on punch card ballots, which can fail
to accurately record votes, creating election disputes. The companies hope to
eliminate these disputes in the future. - Christopher McConnell
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.