I have posted on blogs in the past on political topics, but I have tried to stay out of politics on this blog. I'm going to go into a non partisan rant on voting machines. There is currently a lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania complaining that the new electronic voting machines don't have a paper trail. I live in PA and my county, Pike, still uses the old mechanical voiting machines from the '30s. These are the ones you see in old movies with levers to select your votes, and a big arm that records the votes and opens the curtain. What is wrong with these machines? Nothing! Here are my arguments for keeping them:
- The levers are clear as to who you are voting for (no butterfly ballots)
- They are mechanical, and cannot be programmed to favor a candidate
- they have a paper trail (they record all votes on a roll of paper inside the machine)
- They are quick to get an initial count from, they have counter wheels for each vote that just need to be read.
- Many counties already have working voting machines of this type in place.
Why spend the money on changing the voting system when these machines are already in place and have all the benefits of any of the modern machines, and none of the pitfalls.
