We've had the scan-tron kind of paper ballots for years, and I can't see why any place wouldn't see it as the best of both worlds. All the advantages of computerized systems for instant counting, with the actual original marked-by-the-voter's-own-hand ballot right there if a backup is needed.

I have read that this is the system that is really catching on right now. I've had that system for years and I really like it.

I think that's what we're moving to.

A nice little anecdote for some of you worried about Prop 8 here in California:

You might be heartened to know that one of my staff, who is registered to vote for the first time since he became a citizen (we talk a lot of politics at work, so he overhears) is a fundamentalist Christian. He's a sweet guy, pretty bright, but tends to make up his mind about stuff with a naive approach. I do know he's voting for Obama, and yesterday he asked me about the wording of Prop 8 (I had printed out the voter guides for a bunch of people in the office who had registered late and not yet received the guides). I have to be really careful, because I am his manager, and I also don't want to offend his religious opinions. Anyway, he asked me "why, if the CA Supreme Court had already decided this, it was on the ballot - wouldn't it just go back and forth every 4 years?" So I showed him the wording of the proposition, and how it would actually amend the State constitution. His response astounded me: "well just because I believe marriage is for man and wife, doesn't mean I think the constitution should be changed. It's not like gays are trying to say that marriage should only be between gay people, right? Because that would be wrong. So if they're not trying to take away my rights, why do I care about taking away theirs?"

I almost fainted with joy. And maybe he's not the only one.

AFAIK, my district is still using paper ballots with the old-fashioned kaTHUNK lever machines.

If we ever switch to an electronic system, my one request is that it makes that noise when you press the VOTE button.

I miss the kaTHUNK.

I never got a kaTHUNK (though I remember it from my parents voting.) First time I voted was the bweedloop.

The touch screens...I don't recall them making any noise. Maybe just a beep.

Oh! And you can handle way more people with each voting machine, since you don't need a machine for each voter -- given the role that unexpected lines have played in the last few cycles, that's huge even aside from the cost savings when gov'ts are having to buy new machines.

I am, apparently, in election technology fandom. And nobody's writing good fic.

I think that was one of the big drivers (cost & efficiency.) I've always had machine-per-person set up, so it'll be interesting to see the difference it makes. In 2010.

His response astounded me: "well just because I believe marriage is for man and wife, doesn't mean I think the constitution should be changed. It's not like gays are trying to say that marriage should only be between gay people, right? Because that would be wrong. So if they're not trying to take away my rights, why do I care about taking away theirs?"

That is very beautiful. I'm hopeful because the one person at work that I know voted against whatever the last thing on this was, has changed her mind on the issue.

AFAIK, my district is still using paper ballots with the old-fashioned kaTHUNK lever machines.

I was just saying in a meeting yesterday how I missed the NY machines. Here, my vote's not even private.

Chatty!co-worker and I just went to the bakery to buy presidential candidate cookies for the office.

t edit I should note that, unlike the image on the Web site, the McCain cookie DOES have him smiling. I assume that the Web-site McCain cookie is frowning because he's getting his cookie ass KICKED by cookie!Obama.

To not stir up trouble (and because the office is, as near as we can tell, split 50-50), we bought 10 of each candidate (and I bought an extra Obama cookie to take to The Boy, since he's recovering from abdominal surgery).

We brought them in 10 minutes ago, and there's 1 Obama cookie left.

There are 6 McCain cookies left. (Which just means that the McCain voters either [1] hate cookies or [2] are lazy and haven't gone to claim their cookie of oppression yet.)