I found an interesting little documentary about voting machines while surfing over lunch. It’s about a half hour long but worth a watch. It’s called Votergate.
I’ve long been a backer of electronic voting, but I also believe in a paper trail. Most people focus on the computer as the precedent, but I believe the paper should be the actual vote submission vessel.
When I go to Sheetz and order an MTO I get a receipt that tells me everything that I wanted on my sandwich. Lettuce? Check. Pickles? Check. Onions? What? No. “Please change that,” I would say to the person over the counter. This is how I think electronic voting machines should be done:
An interface is created that is a simple touch-your-candidate style of voting. Once the voting is finished, a screen appears as a summary of your votes. At the same time a printout shoots out of the machine with the exact same data. The machine instructs you to review that the information on the machine and the info on the printout are the same. If this data is right, you place your ballot in the lockbox. If your data is wrong, you are instructed to press a button that alerts an election volunteer. The volunteer takes the bad ballot, shreds it (in front of you) and resets the machine so that you can correct your mistakes or investigate a flaw in the machine. The ballots are the exact same format as the manual paper ballots. They are simply filled in automatically by the computer. The voting machine in this sense becomes nothing more than a glorified printer. However, it will keep data and report results. The ONLY reason it should do this is so that in the future, bugs can be worked out. Ballot counting proceeds as normal using the paper ballots.
Physical paper trails are a good thing. I want a receipt.
Sheetz. Those reciepts need to say, “Your tuna fish sandwich will be made with Miracle Whip.” So that way you have time to cancel your order and don’t end up a few miles down the road with no place to turn around and the nastiest sandwich you have ever had in your entire life. I used to love Sheetz. Now, I’m not so sure.
I guess my question for you would be… why the HELL(!) would you order tuna fish at a gas station?? :-p
lock box
Blasphemers!! Sheetz is so much more than a gas station. Of course I still would not cram any Sheetz tuna down my gullet at gun point.
No one warned me. Everything else I get from Sheetz is super yummy. I just wanted something that didn’t have a lot of “stuff” in it because I had to shift, steer, and pay attention all at the same time. Sandwich handling while driving is difficult enough as it is.
I don’t know why this struck me as dirty, but it did: “I had to shift, steer, and pay attention all at the same time. Sandwich handling while driving is difficult enough as it is.”
This is Cindy we are talking about – of course it’s dirty. 😉
Um, I don’t know whether to resent or appreciate that comment.
you should appreciate it for sure 😉
Well, yes, of course I do. But seeing as how I am dating myself right now, I’m not so sure how I feel about it. It might be tough dating someone as dirty as me. Or grins manically it might be really good.