The Shoutbox
I'd argue voting is in a class by itself, importance-wise, but you might be an exception anyway, because we've had voting machines here for a decade or two, and I live in a pretty poor area.
Originally Posted by Yoda
Anyway there are lots of good reasons to stay with paper, it's a lot safer and it's not that hard. Obviously the design of the ballots themselves can be better or worse, though.
I moved to a neighboring area. The voting machines in the area I left were the paper ballots inserted into a computer. You do the selections on a screen and it marks them for you. Remove the ballot. It shouldn’t take 10 minutes to vote when you can only have 8 people voting at one time.

I get into the argument with my dad a lot, I just feel like we could do better. So many important things; banking, insurance, taxes, etc., are done electronically.
I've been voting for 40 years. Have lived at both ends of Pennsylvania, and have never had to wait more than about five minutes to get into a voting booth. Have voted with mechanical machines, laptop-like machines, and now some odd hybrid of laptop and then putting a ballot in a box that is electronic.

My parents lived in Las Vegas for ten years. That large city (it was really burgeoning in the years they lived there) used old-fashioned paper ballots. My parents appreciated the physical paper trail.

Of course, there are also stories of unscrupulous folks toting the ballots from the polling place to where they're counted, so I'm pretty sure fraud is possible with any voting method. Some are just easier to manipulate than others.
Anyway there are lots of good reasons to stay with paper, it's a lot safer and it's not that hard. Obviously the design of the ballots themselves can be better or worse, though.
Originally Posted by TheUsualSuspect
I get to leave work early, I walk or drive to my assigned voting station. Show ID, mark my choice and leave. 10 minutes is the longest I've waited in the 15 years I've been voting.
That's actually more trouble than it usually is here: we don't have to show ID (and some people are very mad at the idea that people should).

The place I live is a few minutes' walk and I've never had to wait more than a few minutes.

Worth remembering that the horror stories are the ones we always hear about.
Originally Posted by doubledenim
The year is 2020. I remember in the late 90's all the talk about a paperless society.

FF>> to 2020 and we are filling out election ballots with a ballpoint pen. Imagine writing on fax paper with a second-rate writing instrument and having to completely fill out 30 ovals on a Scantron.

In a world where Amazon drops an item off on your porch 2 days after you clicked on a button, voting should not be this complicated.
It's almost like it's that way on purpose.
Originally Posted by doubledenim
The year is 2020. I remember in the late 90's all the talk about a paperless society.

FF>> to 2020 and we are filling out election ballots with a ballpoint pen. Imagine writing on fax paper with a second-rate writing instrument and having to completely fill out 30 ovals on a Scantron.

In a world where Amazon drops an item off on your porch 2 days after you clicked on a button, voting should not be this complicated.
I get to leave work early, I walk or drive to my assigned voting station. Show ID, mark my choice and leave. 10 minutes is the longest I've waited in the 15 years I've been voting.
The year is 2020. I remember in the late 90's all the talk about a paperless society.

FF>> to 2020 and we are filling out election ballots with a ballpoint pen. Imagine writing on fax paper with a second-rate writing instrument and having to completely fill out 30 ovals on a Scantron.

In a world where Amazon drops an item off on your porch 2 days after you clicked on a button, voting should not be this complicated.
Originally Posted by Chypmunk
Originally Posted by John McClane
That is wayyy too many things to vote for.
Just throw the candidates in the air two at a time and pocket the coin on each occasion
truth.
Originally Posted by John McClane
That is wayyy too many things to vote for.
Just throw the candidates in the air two at a time and pocket the coin on each occasion
That is wayyy too many things to vote for.