Some say the inaccuracy of the vote count in Florida cost Al Gore the presidential election in 2000.
Despite measures to improve the voting system, experts say that a repeat of the Florida fiasco is still a possibility -- only this time in Pennsylvania.
Given the close contest in Pennsylvania that appears to be shaping up between President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), state officials are doing their best to ensure the integrity of the voting process.
"I think far too many dead people vote in Philadelphia," said Pennsylvania Students for Bush State Chairman and Wharton senior Dave Copley, arguing the state needs to do a better job of identifying voters.
And in response to similar complaints, first-time voters and those going to a new polling place will have to show identification according to state law.
Moreover, the state has spent $20 million to keep better track of voters, most notably through the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors created in 2002.
The database -- currently used by 56 out of the state's 67 counties -- should theoretically improve accuracy by facilitating the detection of duplicate registrations.
However, there have been reports of computer glitches with the program, which would delay voter registration applications.
"We have slowed down the process of putting the remaining counties on the system to ensure that everything runs smoothly," Department of State spokeswoman Allison Hrestak said. "There were just some technical issues that they were working out."
Philadelphia will not be on the system in time for the election. For some, it is precisely such technical and administrative issues that are worrisome.
"It's an implementation issue," said Jerome Maddox, assistant professor of Political Science at Penn. "Not all ... funds have been dispersed yet ... but it's kind of hard to pass judgment. What we do know is that there are things they planned to do that won't be ready for the election."
"We're in a state that's going to be highly competitive, and it's unfortunate that we haven't fully implemented the reforms suggested by Washington, [D.C.] and passed in Harrisburg," Maddox added. "But this isn't an easy thing to get up and running. I don't want to completely diminish the effort that has been made."
Indeed, Philadelphia has taken some reforms to heart. Education efforts, in addition to increased training and pay for poll workers, have been pushed by the state.
"We have a "Ready, Set, Vote' campaign that's going to be in English and Spanish to educate newly registered voters," Hrestak said.
Costing just over $2.3 million, the Hispanic program kickoff Tuesday in Philadelphia was followed by the launch of the English program yesterday in Harrisburg.
Despite these initiatives to improve access and limit fraud, issues such as same-day registration and funding for new machines remain contentious.
Currently, voters may record their choice using direct recording electronic devices, lever machines, paper ballots, punch cards or optical scanners. However, these methods can cast suspicion on the voter's intent.
The 2000 election exemplified the problem, as election workers sought to determine whether paper perforations, known as chads, in the punch card ballots were "pregnant," "hanging" or "dimpled."
The country was later besieged by furious debates on which chads were sufficiently indicative of the voter's intention.
In places where voter intent is the standard for counting votes, such as Pennsylvania and Florida, the Supreme Court said that a single definition must be used across all counties to determine the validity of a vote.
However, a state court ruled that no such standard exists. Moreover, there are no set guidelines for recounts.
This uncertainty might be a ticking time bomb, given that the victor of this year's election is predicted to win by a narrow margin.
