USA project helps save Democracy

MOBILE, Ala. - Remember Bush versus Gore in 2000? How can you not? It was the election that didn't have a winner for over a month. The 2000 presidential election was filled with voting system controversy.

Since October, the University of South Alabama has been working on a $788,000 project to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.

"What they've created is a tool that will give them a risk assessment for multiple issues, like voting equipment, honest mistakes, intentional errors," said Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman.

Thursday, Secretary Chapman saw a preview of USA's software. The program analyzes voter systems, like touch screens and butterfly ballots. It also assesses potential security risks they face, such as technical issues or operator error.

"What we've seen was very impressive, very on target, very state of the art," said Chapman. "I have every reason and every confidence in them and this project, that it'll be used nationally, if not internationally."

On December 1, USA will pass its software to the federal government, who could in turn pass it to our local polls.

"At some point, all this data will come down to a group of human experts deciding what to do with all of that, what sort of controls to put in place," said Dr. Jeff Landry, who helped create the software.

Secretary Chapman said this project has put Mobile in a different place.

"It's very nice that Alabama, and specifically Mobile, is the brainchild behind this effort. They're doing things here that aren't being done anywhere else in the United States."

Some would argue, they're protecting the future of democracy.

The 10 month project is funded by an independent body that was created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002.