Making sure that your electronic vote will be counted.(Election Alert)

Next month, nearly one-third of voters will be able to cast their ballots on a computer touch screen--a highly controversial development, Some surveys show that people trust electronic voting, but the prospect alarms some computer scientists and voters' rights groups.

People in precincts that already offer e-voting have reported the use of unauthorized software, nonworking machines, and delays in tallying votes cast onscreen.

The critics point to a number of potential problems:

* Voter-access cards, needed to activate the machine, being mass produced and used to allow individuals to vote multiple times.

* Insiders rigging machines to favor one candidate.

* Machines, lacking voter-verified audit systems, hiding problems and making recounts impossible.

E-voting machines do have advantages over older systems, and they are favored by some organizations representing Hispanic and disabled voters. The systems can be programmed for multiple languages, can provide audible ballots for the blind, and can prevent people from voting for more than one candidate for an office.