According to Dr. Jones of the Univ. of Iowa
from:
http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/voting/cbc2004.shtml
Similarly, at county tabulating centers, we must insist on the rights of election observers to watch all crucial activities. Not only must observers be able to watch, but they must be able to understand what they are seeing. Watching someone count X-marks on paper ballots is easy enough, but as the work of vote counting has been shifted into computers, the ability of an observer to distinguish between the legitimate an the illegitimate has declined.
We can and should ask that at least some of the observers present at the tabulating center be able to watch what is on the computer screen when an election official or technician enters commands into that computer. In addition, we must ask that the observer be in a position to understand what is being done, either because an explanation is offered for each such command, or because the observer has been given
access to the relevant documentation far enough in advance that they had a reasonable opportunity to learn what the commands mean.
I believe that many election officials will resist extending these rights to observers, but I am not convinced that overcoming this resistance will require legislation. Current law regarding the rights of election observers may be sufficient, but it may take good lawyers and fast work with injunctions to assure that election observers can do their jobs. 
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