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An examination of Alaska's election security apparatus conducted over the past several months showed the system to be in good shape, but in need of some improvements.

Most of those improvements are now in place, a spokeswoman for the Division of Elections said Monday.

"Alaska voters can go to the polls and cast their ballots knowing that their votes are secure," said Shelly Growden, election systems manager for the division.

Alaska is a "paper-based" state, Growden said, meaning every vote cast by the electorate -- even those made on touch-screen machines -- leaves a paper trail.

In late May, the University of Alaska Anchorage released a report on phase two of the elections study commissioned by Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell last fall. The report evaluated the state's election system in detail and recommended ways to strengthen the technology and election procedures, the UAA said in a recent press release. The report proposed changes that should be made prior to the 2008 election and some that should be done after.

Among other things, the study proposed verifying the accuracy of voting technology before and after the election by comparing voting machine codes with registered codes.

Prior to the election the state should install new software to create a more secure password authentication system for touch-screen machines and change passwords on all voting technology throughout the system, the study said.

Seals that would reveal tampering should be used on all voting equipment; election security information should be added to poll workers' training manuals; there should be increased vigilance about security procedures at absentee polling places; and state-owned voting machines should be used in the North Slope Borough rather than borrowing borough-owned machines, the study said.

"Pretty much everything the UAA recommended will be done," Growden said, adding that much of the work already has been accomplished, including upgrades to software that allows the state to set passwords, rather than using default passwords provided by the voting machine vendor, Premier Elections Systems Inc., of Allen, Texas.

"This is a huge improvement over 2006," Growden said, adding that tamper-evident seals have been placed on all equipment.

For the voting public, all the new security measures will be largely invisible.

"The security is all about the election results and the equipment," Growden said. "When voters go to the polls, they get the same ballot they've always gotten. They won't see anything different."

The study recommended that after the 2008 election, the ballot tabulation system software and other technology should be upgraded to an improved platform; long-term security goals should be established; testing procedures should be improved; a standard plan for tracking and changing passwords should be developed; and an improved system of tracking the number and location of voting machines should be developed.

Also, the study recommended facilities where voting machines are stored be made more secure, more secure shipping containers for optical scanners should be purchased, more poll workers should be recruited and trained, and the state should consider partnering with other institutions for ongoing evaluation of election security technology.

The study also said the state should upgrade its ballot tabulation system software to a recently developed version that corrects vulnerabilities identified in other technical studies.

However, Growden said the Division of Elections must await a federal Election Assistance Commission certification of that software before proceeding. What has been done already has improved the system, she said.

"We have been able to implement almost every enhancement that was recommended through the UAA study for 2008," she said.

Funding for the improvements and the study has come in part through the Help America Vote Act. The largest block of funds -- about $300,000 -- covered the two phases of the study, she said.

The next major step will come after the 2008 election with systemwide software upgrades.

"This will have a pretty major impact," Growden said. "It is a lot of work for us, but we have done it before."

There are about 500 touch-screen units in the state and between 400 and 450 optical scanning units, Growden said.

Alaska is likely to remain a paper-based state for the foreseeable future, Growden said.

"I don't see Alaska or Alaskans going for an electronic voting system without a paper backup," she said.

Hal Spence can be reached at hspence@ptialaska.net.