Today I voted. And today I finally decided I don’t like electronic voting machines. They take too long and I just don’t trust them. I also don’t like seeing half a dozen power cords used to run the things all plugged into a power strip in the middle of the floor just waiting for someone to come along and step on the “off” switch.
I stood in line to vote longer than I can ever remember doing in the past. Much of that was because it was taking everyone forever to get through the electronic ballot. These things make you review your vote, which could be a good thing for some people I guess, but I find it annoying. I especially don’t like the red warnings telling me I failed to vote for anyone in this or that race, as if I had done something wrong.
I’m joining the chorus of reformers who are calling for voting by mail like they do in Oregon.
Well, I don't agree exit polls are necessarily unreliable but the rest sounds good to me.-Voter participation: It increases turnout -- 84 percent of registered Oregonians voted this year.
-Convenience: People can vote according to their schedule.
-Education: People have time to study issues and candidates before voting.
-Fraud protection: It has built-in safeguards that increase the integrity of the elections process.
-Built-in paper trail.
-Voter eligibility: Built-in time to resolve disputes.
-Actual results are released when polls close as opposed to unreliable "exit polls."
-Financial: It saves money.
1 comment:
A voter should get a stub with a number on it.
He, or she, should be able to call a tollfree number, enter the code, and review who they voted for.
This could be accessed via the web too.
The number of course would never be linked to the name of the person.
I believe being able to review that your vote had been recorded would instill a greater level of faith in these new systems.
JP
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