What Is "Black Box Voting"�?

Black box voting is a term coined in America to describe the process of voting on electronic machines which record each vote and tally the vote totals. Following the disputed presidential election of 2000, the U.S. congress introduced the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) which provided funds for the modernisation of voting equipment across the country. This led to the widespread introduction and use of electronic voting machines.

As these machines were used, it was found, in many cases, that the computer contained the only record of the votes that had been cast – no hardcopy ballot corresponding to the electronic vote was ever made. Critics decried this lack of a "paper trail," claiming that it made recounts effectively impossible and left elections prey to programmer error or even secret manipulation.
In recent years, a voter rights campaign has got underway in America in response to the spread of electronic voting machines. Activists in the movement tend to be from the American left and many believe that elections under the presidency of George W. Bush have been "stolen" by the Republicans.