[heleny]

Having opposed the touch-screen system, I'm loving it. We should've gone all optical (color in the dot--what the absentees get now) if we really had to make a change. There's nothing better than a real paper ballot.

I vote absentee in a different county, so I still got punchcards (but I think they may use touchscreens on election day, too).

I like the idea of optical Scantron-type ballots, too. There's a paper trail, and they're harder to tamper than punchcards. Punchcards are probably the easiest for the voters to understand and vote correctly, but elementary school kids already all know how to fill in scantron forms.

[newzjunkey]

I voted absentee here in San Diego county as I always do. This time, with the switch to touch screen, I wanted to ensure my votes had a paper record. I totally agree--kids know Scantron almost from conception with its universal use in schooling. The 2000 Florida cases even suggested it had a tiny error rate. What's wrong with using *that* well established system? If a true vote is what's important, it doesn't make sense to use the hacker-friendly touch screen.