Voting Machines

http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2007/11/13/fifty-states-face-voting-machine-lawsuits-uncounted-documents-dre-issues/

Now I am the first person in line for advocating the use of technology to automate things, make things more efficient, etc...when it makes sense. Not for voting. I really can't believe that in the case of elections, which happen at most twice a year, that spending lots of money on voting machines to "automate" the process really saves any time or money anywhere - these machines get rolled out 1 or 2 days out of 365 and then get put away, probably to become obsolete after 4 or 5 uses. Plus, if a polling place gets busy, it's sure a lot easier to handle the additional volume if you can add a couple tables and put out a few more pens and ballots - you can't just produce additional voting machines on the spot.

And do we really NEED to know the elections results up to the minute/second? Personally I'd rather we not know until everything is done and everyone has voted - that way early results don't influence people voting (or possibly not bothering to vote) later in the day. The people elected don't even take office until 2 months later, what difference does it make whether we know Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Most importantly, to me, this seems like something where accuracy and trust is of primary importance. Period. It is worth the manpower it takes to accomplish this.