FLORIDA: And counting your own vote

[sled]

And counting your own vote

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edped092120904dec09,0,6684627.story?coll=orl-opinion-headlines

Our position: Having paper trail for touch-screen voting machines
fuels voter confidence.

Posted December 9, 2004

If maintaining convenient polling places is all about voter
accessibility, adding a verifiable paper trail to new electronic
voting machines is all about voter confidence.

Unfortunately, the state association of elections supervisors isn't
too interested in that notion, either -- at least when it comes to
retrofitting electronic voting machines with a secure printer to
record individual ballots.

Last year, in fact, the association strenuously opposed the idea. The
new machines were foolproof, they said, and a paper trail could create
all sorts of headaches that supervisors would have to resolve.

Well, democracy isn't supposed to make life easy for election
administrators. Indeed, democracy depends on the proper count of every
ballot cast. And that's where the election supervisors should focus
their energies.

(snip)

CONTACT INFO: [e-mail]

[ixion]

1. okay, if the machines are truly 'fool proof'

then why would there be any headaches adding a paper trail?

And why are headaches relevant to this issue at all?

If the election admins don't like it, I'm sure they can find a nice burger flippin' job here in the new 'Murika. :grr:

[Eloriel]

2. Great editorial -- thanks n/t