Posted on 09/07/2004 1:04:34 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Voting officials were watching how successful Nevada would be Tuesday in becoming the first state to use touch-screen machines in statewide voting.
Primary voting was due to narrow the field of November candidates for Congress, the state Legislature and two nonpartisan seats on the Nevada Supreme Court. Seats also were at stake on the state university Board of Regents and state Board of Education and many local offices.
State and county election officials reported few problems with electronic machines after at least 100,000 ballots were cast during two weeks of early voting.
"Nothing but glowing reports," said Steve George, spokesman for Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller.
The machines were endorsed by Kay Fanning, who voted on Tuesday at the Fish Springs Volunteer Fire Station in rural Douglas County.
"I think they're tremendous. It's quick," she said.
Some Las Vegas-area voters had to be told they could not take paper printouts from beneath a clear plastic cover, Clark County Registrar Larry Lomax said. The receipts remain with the machine as proof of votes if a recount is needed.
In the Reno area, one poll worker had to be retrained after repeatedly giving the wrong ballot to voters at an early voting center at a mall, George said.
Washoe County Voter Registrar Dan Burk said studies found voters were taking 60 to 90 seconds longer to vote on the touch-screen machines than in the past.
But Matthew Pinchon of Reno said the touch screens were quicker than the old voting method.
Robert Munson called it "a lot more convenient than filling in those bubbles."
Supporters say the electronic machines improve voter accuracy and provide a uniform election system. Critics attack the machines' security and reliability, pointing to election problems elsewhere in the country.
A short primary ballot and growing familiarity with the system after weeks of media reports were expected to help keep voters moving on primary day, officials said.
In Clark County, Lomax said 71,748 voters cast early ballots, and he received another 13,000 absentee ballots. He said he expected turnout of about 27 percent for the election - higher than in 2000 and 2002.
About 9,000 early votes were cast in Washoe, the state's second-largest county, and George said officials were sure the state topped 100,000 early votes. He projected turnout for the primary would be between 25 and 35 percent.
The state, with about 2.2 million residents, had 945,981 voters registered for the primary election.
Woohooo!!!
Willie Green gets to vote today!!!
Toss out the bums!!!
The most vociferous shrieks and howls over voting machines invariably come from DemonRats. Ever wonder why?
If the machines and the voting could be manipulated as easily as they suggest, they'd be lining up all over the country screaming discrimination against anyone that wouldn't put them in. You see, they're the criminals who buy votes with cigarettes to homeless in Wisconsin, send out union members all day to vote in as many precincts as they can, can't figure out how to use the Fischer Price punch ballots in Florida, and don't want ANY checks of voting rolls anywhere.
Electronic voting has the potential to end their voting corruption and in turn end the DemonRat party forever.
Of all the technologies available, the optical scanners are the best choice, IMHO.
They offer all the advantages of electronic tabulation while retaining the simplicity, familiarity and backup verification qualities of traditional paper ballots. Plus, they are less expensive than the glitzy whiz-bang touch screen solutions. Why spend all that money on high-tech equipment that's only used a few times a year, and will probably be "obsolete" within a year or two?
But it looks like we have touch screen, so I get to see it first hand when I go to the polls. Maybe that'll change my impression.
Good grief. My polling place in NJ has been using touch screens for years. Never had a single problem as opposed to the old machines which broke down regularly.
These machines take away the argument that totals can be jimmied since they now have what looks like a cash register tape that shows your vote. Human minds will figure out a way I guess, but no paper trail bothered me before.
If people would mark their preliminary ballot they receive in the mail a few days before hand, they would sail right through the process. I don't think I took two minutes to vote.
One thing I don't do is vote when there's only one candidate. There were a couple of those. One thing I noticed is that the word "incumbent" wasn't around, and, that the Republican ballot had a few "None of the above" while the Democrats didn't have any.
Here in FL we used touch screens a couple of weeks ago. Democrats' machines used pictures rather than words.
Now they gotta haggle over the hanging or pregnant pictures?
I've voted here in Georgia in two statewide elections using touchscreens. They are simple to use, and very nice.
Nevada may be claiming firsties on touchscreens with paper trail, a nice addition.
One out of every five adults cannot read.
I mostly agree, but the one problem with optical ballots is that they can be mismarked. Also, unselected races can be filled in later.
I suggest a hybrid, the voter uses and touch screen and receives a paper ballot, marked with his choices. He or she can review the paper ballot and accept it, or ask for another. (Need to turn in the "spoilt" paper ballot which the machine shreds. Once satisfied with the paper ballot, the voter casts the paper ballot. Best of both worlds.
Used the new system tonight to vote on my way home from work. After showing my license and signing to verify signature (with a friend who knows me :) and was explaining to the other poll worker where I lived) I tried the new machine. Very quick but not easy to make a mistake as you have the option to go back at each page and at the end review. It then prints a paper receipt which you can see and you must okay that before vote is final. I like the system and don't see how it could be abused.
Of course there is always a way, but someone will have to work at it a little harder here.
We didn't have those.
Instead, we had what I think they call a "full face" ballot voting machine.
It was kinda like a big (3' square) membrane electronic ballot.
You just touched the candidates you wanted to vote for, then their lights would light up, and you pushed the finish button when you were done. No print out.
Fast and easy, but I'm a bit worried about it.
How can you vote for a write-in candidate on such a contraption?
It doesn't say on the instructions I got with my sample ballot, and I forgot to ask while I was at the polls. It didn't make a difference to me during this primary, but I anticipate I'll probably want to write-in an alternate selection of my own choosing during the general election. It's gonna make me very, very grumpy if I'm not allowed to do that.
Do any of you folks know how to vote for a write-in candidate on these newfangled things?
In my sample ballot and voter information pamphlet there are no instructions for a write in candidate. I'll have to see if I can find out anything about that tomorrow.
It comes with the Florida, Fischer Price version. They have to ask up front for the block that fits their candidate. You know, a little crooked for Kerry, Round for Nader, and Triangle for Bush. For the rest, who cares? Also, once they get the right block, then they get the Fischer Price voting machine, they can't make any mistakes putting the wrong one in with that one :)
Touch Screen alpha-numeric key pad? A pop-up option. (This is my fantasy version.)
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