To the editor:

The software on which votes are counted is protected as a corporate trade secret, and the software is so complex that if malicious code was embedded, no analysis could likely not discover it.

Further, because there is no voter-verified paper record, it is not possible to audit the electronic vote for accuracy, nor is it possible to conduct an independent recount.

This is a grotesquely designed, over-complicated, expensive system fraught with the potential for mistakes and undetected fraud. We should not trust the future of our nation to such malleable technology.

Computers are inherently subject to a programming error, equipment malfunction and malicious tampering. If we are to ensure fair and honest elections and retain voter confidence in our democratic process, we need to ensure that there are no such questions.

Therefore, it is crucial that any computerized voting system provide a voter-verifiable paper audit trail and that random audits of electronic votes be conducted on Election Day.

Paperless voting supports voter suppression.

Richard Heckler,

Lawrence