One of the worst ways to run an election is with paper ballots. We want to minimize the human inputs in our elections. Electronics are the way to go. When paper ballots are counted by humans, humans get to decide so many things — like which box is that “X” really in. Or, that isn’t an “X,” that’s a stray mark, so the “X” is really meant for this candidate. Get my point? Dishonest clerks can find lots of discretion in paper ballots. Lord over them while the count goes on, if the law allows. I'm convinced that the best current method of vote recording and counting are paper optical scan ballots. There's a paper trail, but the counting is done by machine. In a proper setup, the voter should be allowed to verify their ballot by running it through a (non-tallying) optical reader to confirm their votes before casting the completed ballot.