Voted this morning on an optical-scan machine

[LynzM]

Phooey, I want the lever machines back, and I'm not even that old (I'm 27... Monty Python, anyone?)

My grandparents will vote on them, but they said that their neighbor (also in her 70s) won't go to vote anymore :(

[connecticut yankee]

1. I just got back and was going to post something

but you beat me to it.

The new ballots are ridiculous! It took about ten minutes to fill in all the circles, whereas it used to take about 30 seconds to vote on the old machines.

Not only that -- my hand got cramped before the first page was finished. I wonder how people with arthritis will manage.

And there was absolutely no privacy -- my husband and I were in adjoining "booths" and talked to each other constantly -- mostly complaints about the ballot.

Also, there was no way to change your mind, other than get a new ballot and have to fill in everything again.

Susan Byszewitz will have to do better than this.

[CT_Progressive]

2. I got a lot of privacy complaints from voters on the new system

Mostly because in my polling place, the moderator didn't appear to have the required privacy sleeves as described in the literature about the new voting system.

On the bright side, instead of 4 lever machines (with lines to wait to use them), there were 20+ writing tables. So it appears the new system lets more people vote at once, and thus prevents long lines/election fraud due to long lines.

[calico1]

3. I didn't like the lack of privacy either

although when I went it was not crowded. But still....you are totally exposed from the back. The other thing is that you have to be super careful because unlike with lever machines you can't change your mind once you've filled in the circle. I suppose you could ask for another ballot. I didn't like it much except that if there is a big crowd there are more of them than with the old machines. I hope they do something about the privacy issue for the big election in '08.

[Nutmegger]

4. I want the lever machines back!

I knew that CT was rolling out new machines, but I didn't realize it was going to happen this year!

As stated above, the lack of privacy was an issue. Call me old fashioned (and I'm not that old myself either), but I like the curtain covering me while I vote! At my precinct there were about ten machines in two rows and they were about three to four feet in between each other.

I guess we should be thankful that they're not DIEBOLD machines. :scared:

[truckin]

7. They are Diebold machines! Read this entry in BradBlog about

problems with the machines in CT.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5320

[Fancifulactor]

8. Absolutely agree. Those Diebold machines can be easily hacked

And they have, in the past, by experts trying to prove it.

[Autumn Colors]

5. This was my 2nd time using these

Monroe had them last year. I moved to Torrington this year where they were using them for the first time.

When I went to put my ballot in the scanner, I asked if this was how I was supposed to insert my ballot to be shredded.

It does look like a big shredder and I have no confidence that my ballot was even counted or tabulated correctly.

My new hometown voted mostly Republican. At least Monroe had a record of electing a Democratic selectman with the rest mainly Republican. :(

[NutmegYankee]

6. I was the first to vote in my district.

I didn't feel there was enough privacy. It was obvious who you voted for as you handed in the ballot.