Report finds flaws in South Carolina’s voting systems

South Carolina is one of the nation’s least prepared states heading into this fall’s election because of its voting system, a new study says.

The report, “Counting Votes 2012: A State-by-State Look at Voting Technology Preparedness,” rated South Carolina as having an inadequate post-election audit procedure, and it was among six states deemed under-prepared to deal with unexpected machine failures.

However, South Carolina’s ballot reconciliation and polling place contingency plans ranked generally good.

The report found several potential problems with voting technologies in use across the nation — a sobering reality considering how close many predict this year’s presidential election will be.

The nonprofit groups Verified Voting and Common Cause as well as the Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic released the report this morning.

South Carolina’s voting machines have been under scrutiny for at least two years, as some questioned if they played a role in Democrat Alvin Greene’s surprising primary win over fellow Senate candidate and Charleston County Councilman Vic Rawl.

At the request of Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell, South Carolina’s Legislative Audit Council has begun its own probe into the machines.

Read more in tomorrow’s Post and Courier.