What do you think about electronic voting machines with no paper trail?
403843
Dangerous.\n\nIt'd be WAY too big of a target for electronic sabotage. Sooner, rather than later, people are going to find ways to bypass any and all security mechanisms that can be placed on the devices and their data stores.
115073
Good point, and yet another flaw in our voting process. I would suggest that all voters would have to take a simple test, whether they understand the workings of our government (unbiased ?'s like "How many people on the Supreme Court", or "Name the governor of your state").\n\nTrouble is, voting tests are often associated with the biased "literacy tests" in the South, to make sure blacks couldn't vote. So this idea, while interesting, is unlikely to go anywhere for a while.
920179
You make an excellant point. And to the naysayers that claim that this is a Democratic issue, they should do their research. There are several states where the Republicans do not believe in the Diebold machines either, and want a paper trail.\nThe reality is, unfortunatly that if there is tampering, we will never know the truth. That is why it is sooo important that you keep your own record of your vote with a camera. And don't let the concerns make you not want to vote. There may be issues, but you still have to make an effort and vote.
831778
Thank you for inspiring me to vote...I am 54 and have never missed voting.  My family is heavily into flag waving, are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and my aunt even worked as as secretary/receptionist on Capitol Hill for 50 years.  We got to tour the White House and watch the Senate in action with special passes as a kid.  I even went to the oval office once.  I wanted to grow up to be the first woman president.\n\nThis time though, it's different.  I live in a district that the Democratic party has written off.  I live in a state that the Democratic party has written off.  They wouldn't even spend the money to get a candidate listed on the ballot to run for Senate.  \n\nThe last election, our polling place was moved OUT OF OUR PRECINCT.  The mail says we live too far on the edge of our county for paper delivery same day.  \n\nI've even worked as a poll worker for elections.  I know the radio will say who won our state before our ballots even reached the courthouse for tallying.\n\nThe last election we used touch screen voting.  There was NO PAPER TRAIL.  No receipt that you voted.  No way to know if your vote was correctly registered on the machine.  There is absolutely nothing to recount.  I would say most poll workers do not own a computer themselves, yet are managing the votes on them.\n\nI have NO CONFIDENCE that my vote will count at all.  When Pres. Bush announced that he has NO worries that the Republicans will maintain the Hill, I believe he means he has people to enter the voting machines and make sure he's correct.  There is absolutely no way to know if they have been tampered with.  The party with power does not have to yield again, unless we use paper ballots which can be recounted, and of course scanned by a computer to count, which will make the process timely enough.\n\nI have always believed in this country.\n\nThey lost me when exit polls showed how people ACTUALLY voted, yet the final count did not reflect that.\n\nYour shred of hope will push me out the door.  I am ill today, and thought this may be the first time I missed.\n\nI belong in the Senate, not Senator Lugar.  He advertised with millions of dollars, WITHOUT a candidate against him.  What a wasteful man.  He is supposed to be a Rhoades scholar, but didn't digest the facts about WMD correctly at all and led us into this war which has killed thousands of innocents.  If he had been in any danger of going himself, or any members of his family in deep need of college financing through the military, perhaps he would have poured over the reasons for war more thoroughly.\n\nSorry, for any mispellings, I usually proofread, as I'm so particular.  I would be an excellent, conscientious Senator.  But, I better go vote.  I only wish it would count.\n\nPlease don't blame Americans if the results are not logical.  Our voting process will not stand up to the standards former President Jimmy Carter uses when monitoring elections.\n\nWish truth, justice, and the American Way Luck!  Hopefully, I won't be patted down there, and my paper with my write in candidate taken! Ha!  That is the only way to vote other than Republican in our corner of Indiana. . .
301153
I always vote.  But would love to see all ballots include the official "no vote" choice rather than spoiling the ballot paper.  If the no vote wins then the candidates have to go and rethink and represent their policies.  More expensive to start with but boy would they learn to listen to us rather than just present their offerings.\n\nLuv you.
834647
Thanks Hun... !\n\nI will... make it as difficult as possible for them... we have paper ballots that are counted by machines... but still the paper backup.
1168101
right now it seems, none of us... for instance in Florida, we have new computerized voting machines with NO paper trail.  why?  when you purchase something at a store don't you want a receipt?  but for an election there is no proof that i even voted.  wake up america.
964535
No... there needs to be no electronic involvement.  Votes need to be done on paper, countable, and recountable.  We must have a system that can be verified and legitimized.  I have already volunteered to spend many, many hours counting ballots (along with two others).
814200
There is one thing for  sure. There should always be a paper vote. There is no way to verify results without one.  Do not use a ballot with chads, just a plain piece of paper. with a hole punched in it. That eliminates the BS we all suffered during the 2000 election. Next, the ballots should be counted right there,  With representatives from both parties present. Not allowed by law to be moved. And finally, All voters must present a voter I.D. That would resolve most voter fraud.
40029
I was wondering about this earlier today.  I think we're stuck with paper for quite a while since it's so cheap, but it's conceivable that we would eliminate it relatively soon.  Personally, I really like the idea of having something tangible in my hands with real pages that I can turn.  I was reading some Shakespeare today and I thought, "Wow, if I had a palm pilot, I could just download the text to it and I wouldn't have to waste paper or latch myself to my computer."  So what if one day we all went around carrying big sheets of plastic folded up like newspapers and whatever we wanted to read we could download to them?  Scientists are working on creating cheap, thin, clear "screens", so it's not entirely science fiction.  Paper will probably be around for a long time, but I think it would be interesting to look up whether paper waste has gone down even in recent years just with the popularization of the internet.
1136492
I can only name one that I'm aware of, Diebold.  They're based in Ohio I believe and have been in the news quite a bit.  There has been speculation about their machines in the 2004 election and the proper counting of votes.  Should be lots of articles out there on it.
797789
Any problems with voter fraud?  I would think the Demorats could have a field day, going around taking peoples ballots out of their mail boxes and filling them in for them.
840261
1030am on the East coast and the news channels are already reporting on malfunctioning machines.  The folks who have been complaining about the Diebold machines appear to be correct.  They are faulty and prone to hacking. They need to at least provide a paper receipt which can then be counted at the end of the night to audit if needed.
971216
I was a little wary about voting on those new machines they had at the voting polls, knowing they can be hacked.  I didn't want to really use those machines at the voting polls but that's all they had there.  I prayed to God that my vote would count for the people I voted for and that there would be no problems with the machines.  All the stories I heard of to discourage voters, particularly in the black community really pissed me off.  I mean is that what it has come to with these politics, just think if they are doing that are we all really safe with our Government.  I'm a black female and I voted for the lesser of two evils.
888717
DEPENDS ON THE QUALITY OF THE VOTING MACHINES.\nGOD BLESS
966807
Yes, this is the only way to keep them from cheating, but they always find another way. Something to consider: under congressional testimony a Diebold executive remarked about how his machines could be remotely accessed. Isnt that also cause for alarm?
715483
It is very disconcerting to hear that many of the new voting machines do not give receipts, or copies to the voters, or to anyone else.  If there is a malfunction or fraud, there will be no way to verify the results and there will be no possibility for a recount.  This may cast a big cloud over the election for voters in either party, but especially for the losers.  I don't like that news.