On 10/09/2015 09:38 AM, Paul Koning wrote:
Very convenient for those who run the government that runs the election process.
In the state where I live the setup (by law, as I recall) is a nice hybrid. Paper (mark
sense) ballots, scanned by machine. But anyone can look at a ballot and see what it says,
and you can recount them by hand if necessary. So the security of the counting machines
is not actually critical because they aren't the final authority.
Here in Missouri, we have touch screen machines that print a
paper roll with human-readable vote info PLUS 2D bar codes
for fast scanning, and the voter can watch the paper scroll
by to verify the human-readable data agrees with their
votes. I think it puts time and date on the paper as well,
so somebody can't run off a bunch of phony votes before or
after the election hours. The paper is like cash register
tapes. the first vote info is all electronic, but if there
is a recount, the paper tapes can be examined.
Any voter can also opt for mark sense ballots.
Jon