State leaders propose new voting systems

[William769]

COLLIER COUNTY: Governor Charlie Crist wants to spend $32.5 million to replace the state's touch-screen voting machines and Southwest Florida Senator Bill Nelson is proposing a bill that would ban paper-free voting nationwide. But the changes could end up costing you.

The goal behind both plans is restoring voter confidence - especially in Florida. If state and national paperless ballot bans are approved, election officials say voter accuracy could carry a price tag.

You could call it back to basics. Tuesday, Senator Bill Nelson introduced a bill that would ban paperless ballots nationwide, requiring all electronic machines to also have a paper printout.

The bill's goal mirrors Crist's plan to set aside more than $30 million in the state budget to require a paper trail.

"We're all concerned about voter confidence. We want our voters here in Collier County to have confidence in the systems they're using," said Collier County Elections Supervisor Jennifer Edwards. "It's going to cost the taxpayers more money, I think that's inevitable."

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=11103&z=3&p=

[aquart]

1. Paper ballots. Hand counted. In public. Slowly.

No reason on earth we have to decide elections the second the polls close.

[O.M.B.inOhio]

2. Yes, yes, yes.

Top-of-my-head thoughts:
The counting process can be a civic event, bringing communities together. Local totals are announced locally before they're added to the state tally. Every community would be subject to scrutiny from outside observers, but the counting is "owned" by the people. Polls are open, say, Tuesday and Wednesday, with either being a paid half-day for employees of medium to large companies.

Every place the ballots go (and come from) can now be monitored. Video recordings can be reviewed in the even of an audit, plus local and web-based observers can watch "live" for indications of foul play. Ballots are counted by community members, observed by designated observers and by cameras, until they are done. Cameras, GPS devices, volunteers, magnetized or special paper ballots guard against swapping or stuffing. video can be checked against poll books and ballot totals to confirm total number of voters at a location. The newspapers get to keep busy guessing what's going on for a few days, until local districts report publicly to the counties, which report publicly to the states, which add these tallies in the daylight of citizen and press scrutiny.

It takes a few days, but it's cheaper, more reliable, and more fitting with the traditional idea of the American community than Diebold & ES&S swappable memory cards, invisible transmissions, inexplicable glitches, and corporate secrecy.

A better way to put my rant: "Paper ballots. Hand counted. In public. Slowly." Thanks, aquart.

[Doondoo]

3. K&R