Since the 2000 nat. elections, concerns have been raised regarding the election process, incl. voting technol. Beginning in 2001, a series of reports were published examining every aspect of the elections process; these were used by Congress in framing the Help America Vote Act, which provided for replacement of older voting equip. with more modern electronic voting systems (EVS) & established the Election Assist. Comm. (EAC) to lead the nation¿s election reform efforts. Later reports have raised concerns about the security & reliability of these EVS, examined the EAC¿s efforts to address these concerns, & surveyed state & local officials about practices used during the 2004 election, as well as plans for their systems for the 2006 election. Illus.