[jimfree]

Here in Oklahoma we use a very simple method of voting. Ballots are printed on paper about 11 x 17. Each candidate or referendum is written in simple text and next to the name or question is a arrow with a gap in the line. Each voter is issued a special pen and simply connects the line for the candidate he or she is voting for. The ballots are then placed in a machine where they are both kept and safeguarded as well as counted. The count is kept electronically and the paper ballots are secured to verify and questions or irregularities. Its simple, cheap and easily understood.

Sounds like a good system. Would it have been secure enough to prevent the fraud in Cook County in 1960 or King County in 2004? Would Nixon and Rossi have been elected under your system?

My point is that security of any system is some combination of hardware, software, and procedure. To say that a system "can be hacked" does not give me a complete picture. We know from the Kennedy and Gregoire electoral success that indeed paper ballot systems can be hacked.

[ops33]

No, I don’t believe it is 100% foolproof. But in order to commit voter fraud someone would have to compromise both the electronic record, recorded when the ballot is slid into the ballot box, and the paper record. Makes it a little harder but not impossible. I think the greatest vulnerability would be illegal voting or ballot stuffing. Photo ID for voters is not required. Each polling place has a printout of all registered voters for that polling location. I simply sign next to my name on the printout and take my ballot.