Voting rants

[eebadeeba]

First - why do we still have to use large amounts of paper for the voting process?

Second - I am given a private booth to actually fill in the ballot, but after I have to walk back past the line of people waiting and insert the ballot in the machine. The ballot is two sheets of paper with questions on all sides. There is no way of not exposing at least some of the vote. Then the election judge is standing over the machine watching (instructing) how to insert the ballot. I felt like there was no privacy.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

We use machines here. Push buttons and away you go!

 

[wvjules]

Ours is electronic. I put in my card thingy (the official name, of course), check the appropriate boxes and submit, then turn the card back in to the voting official. Then I get a nifty sticker to wear all day. Easy-peasy here.

 

[luvmy3]

First - why do we still have to use large amounts of paper for the voting process?

Second - I am given a private booth to actually fill in the ballot, but after I have to walk back past the line of people waiting and insert the ballot in the machine. The ballot is two sheets of paper with questions on all sides. There is no way of not exposing at least some of the vote. Then the election judge is standing over the machine watching (instructing) how to insert the ballot. I felt like there was no privacy.

We put ours in a folder that also gets inserted into the machine so not even the person standing there helping sees what is on it.

*edit* Went to vote this morning and you don't put the folder in the machine, just the paper. I just stuck in face down.

 

[BearcatsFan]

We are given the sheets in a folder - walk to a private booth. Fill the sheets out, back into the folder they go. Walk to the machine - there's no person standing there (they're sitting closeby if you need help or if the machine alarm goes off) - feed sheets into machine and turn the folder back in for someone else to use.

Simple and easy!

 

[ckay87]

I have been voting for about 25 years, a few of them were in the teeny tiny town I grew up in. And none of my towns after that were exactly cutting edge. However, I have always voted with the push of a button. Always. I am surprised that anyone is voting differently. You're absolutely right, that's pretty backwards. Maybe, ironically, you need to vote for officials who will upgrade your voting system!

 

[disneychic2]

We are given the sheets in a folder - walk to a private booth. Fill the sheets out, back into the folder they go. Walk to the machine - there's no person standing there (they're sitting closeby if you need help or if the machine alarm goes off) - feed sheets into machine and turn the folder back in for someone else to use.

Simple and easy!

This is what we do as well. We have lived in this area almost three years and have never voted in the same place twice! They keep changing locations and, therefore, methods. The last time I voted, it was electronic and was great. But my DH called and said we're back to the paper method this time at our new location. Wish they were all the same.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I'm only old enough to have voted in 3 presidential elections. Of those, the first one was paper, but that's because I was voting absentee. The other two were all electronic.

 

[HelenePA]

Ours is electronic. I put in my card thingy (the official name, of course), check the appropriate boxes and submit, then turn the card back in to the voting official. Then I get a nifty sticker to wear all day. Easy-peasy here.

Same here but no sticker I live in nowhere PA in a town of about 1800 I'm shocked some of you still have paper ballots!

 

[Jennasis]

In my little tiny NC town, at my polling place (which is an old one room schoolhouse roughly the size of my living room) we have 5 cutting edge electronic touch screen machines.

 

[BearcatsFan]

Same here but no sticker I live in nowhere PA in a town of about 1800 I'm shocked some of you still have paper ballots!

At least we've graduated to the fill-in-the-dot kind and gotten rid of the punch-out ones. No more hanging chads!

 

[Hannathy]

I much prefer the paper ballot and always choose it over the totally electronic.

The ease and chance of election tampering increases significantly with electronic voting. It is extremely easy to tamper with electronic voting and no way to check, with paper you have a way to check.

 

[Buckalew11]

We have a dial that highlights the name and you click. It used to be touchscreen.

Why don't all the states have the same voting machines? Seems like that would make things much easier!

I've never voted on paper unless I have forgotten I did... lol I'm old.

 

[HelenePA]

I much prefer the paper ballot and always choose it over the totally electronic.

The ease and chance of election tampering increases significantly with electronic voting. It is extremely easy to tamper with electronic voting and no way to check, with paper you have a way to check.

there is a way to check.. a paper comes out the back side like a receipt.. have you seen them?

 

[newt2]

We had the electronic ones but, due to popular demand, went back to paper.

More secure that way.

 

[Hannathy]

there is a way to check.. a paper comes out the back side like a receipt.. have you seen them?

still done electronically, not the same.

 

[HelenePA]

still done electronically, not the same.

you'd have to have the entire polling place in on it... You could do the same with paper if you had that happen.

 

[Hannathy]

you'd have to have the entire polling place in on it... You could do the same with paper if you had that happen.

No, you wouldn't

 

[Jennasis]

there is a way to check.. a paper comes out the back side like a receipt.. have you seen them?

I think she is saying that if the machine has been tampered with it could be printing out the wrong info, or could have been tampered with to record on the reciept "Candidate B" even if you voted for "Candidate A".

 

[shortbun]

there is a way to check.. a paper comes out the back side like a receipt.. have you seen them?

We have the receipts. It's like a grocery receipt.