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A faded black-and-white photograph taken 60 years ago in South Texas shows some good ol' boys posed around the front end of a car and a ballot box marked with the words, "Precinct 13." Precinct 13 changed the course of history, according to author Robert Caro, who says that those in the picture were up to no good.

In 1948, Lyndon Johnson and former Texas Gov. Coke Stevenson were battling for a Texas U.S. Senate seat. Stevenson led by 157 votes in the days following the election. Six days after the election, however, a new vote count was announced from Precinct 13 containing 202 more names, of which 200 votes went to Johnson. Stevenson fought the tally through the Democratic Party and through the court system, but ultimately Johnson took the statewide election by 87 votes of almost 1 million cast. "Landslide Lyndon" was coined, and a senator, vice president and president arose from this tainted beginning.

Our republic, our representative form of government, is founded on the twin pillars of democracy and the rule of law. Democracy depends upon free, fair and accurately reported elections.

Alaska's Division of Elections remains committed to providing secure, trustworthy elections. We are fortunate to have Division of Elections professionals who take this mission seriously.

Alaska employs safeguards to ensure that the technical equipment and people work well on Election Day. Alaska's touch-screens and scanners are subjected to federal testing and certification, functionality testing, and logic and accuracy testing conducted by two separate bipartisan boards prior to an election.

Alaska also has many processes and procedures in place that add a layer of security to the electronic elections system. These include: an open elections process that includes observers; paper records of every vote; a hand count from a precinct in every district to verify machine-counted results; and, a system of cross-checks in vote counting that involves sending ballots and mechanical counting devices to separate locations after polls close.

Despite the security procedures that Alaska and other states have in place, studies continue to reveal vulnerabilities in all election systems. In Alaska, we proactively seek improvements to elections security.

This past summer, my office and the Division of Elections launched an independent, third-party review of Alaska's elections security. The Division of Elections contracted with the University of Alaska Anchorage to complete the State of Alaska Election Security Project. The project has two important objectives: to help ensure the security of votes Alaskans cast and to enhance voter confidence in Alaska's election system. The project will identify whether technology, system or procedural vulnerabilities exist, and recommend solutions. The university will analyze not only the electronic systems but the entire system, including the policies and procedures in place.

UAA assembled a team of experts across numerous disciplines (including engineering, computer sciences and economics) to complete its technical team; the process, procedures and people team; and the external document review team.

UAA completed the first phase of the project in December after conducting a high-level vulnerability analysis. A copy of the first phase report can be found at www.elections.alaska.gov/election_security.php. UAA has now moved into the second phase, which is the detailed look at the technologies employed and the procedures used to secure each vote. UAA expects this phase to be completed in April, including making recommendations in time for the 2008 elections.

Citizen input is a key component of UAA's project. If you have comments on potential elections system vulnerability or suggestions on how elections security can be improved, tell us at www.elections.alaska.gov/email.php.

By proactively seeking improvement in Alaska elections security, we can avoid questionable outcomes like Texas experienced some 60 years ago. Democracy's voice is powered by your vote, and we are working to ensure that your vote counts.

• Sean Parnell is Alaska's lieutenant governor.