GAO won't study 2004 e-votes

David Walker's statement

Citing a lack of authority, Comptroller General David Walker has rebuffed calls for the Government Accountability Office to study voting irregularities possibly linked to electronic systems used in the Nov. 2 general election.

"While GAO has and will continue to do certain elections-related work, we are not authorized to engage in enforcement efforts relating to specific allegations of voting irregularities," Walker wrote in a statement issued Nov. 23.

However, GAO analysts plan to continue studying voter registration processes, provisional voting procedures and voting technologies in general, he wrote.

The statement does not directly address a request filed by three members of Congress, who were later joined by three more, for GAO to look into issues surrounding the Nov. 2 election. However, Walker does draw a distinction between specific allegations of problems, which GAO cannot investigate, and more general concerns that the agency can tackle.