Election equipment (United States)

[Conquest10]

OK, no politics. What type of election equipment is used at your poll place? I'm hearing that the majority of places use the touchscreen and computerized ones. I've never seen those.

Here in Chicago (or at least the southside as I voted in different districts and its all been the same) have had the punch card type. For this year's primary though we got a new thing. Its just a slip like the punch card but instead was a fill in the bubble thing.

After its complete, you head over to the machine that accepts the slip (worked the same for the punch card). It reads the ballot and tells you if there were any mistakes or misses. If it is rejected, you get a new one and that one is voided. Seems very easy and I don't know why they don't do that elsewhere (which is what I'm getting by seeing about the Florida recount).

[BJ_M]

most of those are hacked already - see slashdot

[ZAPPER]

I started out with the old huge machine that you flipped the little levers and when the curtian was opened with the lever your vote was cast and the levers reset to Zero.

Then I did a few with a punch card that was refferenced to a book in a special holder arrangement. You put the card in the holder, opened the book and each page would kind of refference you to the spot to punch depending on your vote. Then the card was turned in to a poll worker. (I think this was the system that caused all the trouble in Florida)

I think that the last time or two I voted, it was touchscreen. I seem to recall that they made a magnetic striped card for you to access the machine, but the vote left from the machine automaticly and after you voted you turned the card back in and they reprogramed the card for the next guy (kind of like an electronic keycard.)

[gadgetguy]

I remember the lever machines. That's what I used the first time I voted. Currently my polling place is using these big cards that you use a pen to complete the line of an arrow that points to your candidate of choice. Then you feed the card into the machine and it reads the lines and stores the card. Pretty simple.

[thecoalman]

We had the lever machines here forever, never had any problems with them. Don't know why they are forcing them out because AFAIK there wasn't any issues with them like the punch cards in Florida. It doesn't get any simpler, pull the lever... duh! Anyhow they switched to computers and I'm all for modernization but I think they should have had more time to decide what they were going to do. It was mandated that after the Florida fiasco that everyone had to switch to an approved method and I think there should have been a larger window to do so. Trying to force something as important as what tabulates votes through the system shouldn't be done.

[ZAPPER]

I remember when I was in elementary school the day that the lever style machines got delivered to our librairy. It was a big event. The BIG truck parked out front (probablly only like a 20' box truck) And it was like the first time I ever saw a lift gate. The noise and scale of the operation was impressive! (well at least to a second grader)

Back them our school lessons would have been coordinated so that we would have been learning about voting or government at about the same time this "Teachable moment" arrived. We got to go to the librairy and learn how to use these great big monster machines. Some kids may have even been scared to go inside this Wizard of Oz looking contraption. Yep, this was state of the art, this was the future. Well atleast around 1967 thru 1975.

[3Simon7]

What happened to paper ballots, counted by people?

It takes longer, but there's no hurry!

(...or is there?).

[Conquest10]

Just got back. Still had the fill in the bubble ballots used in the primary. Its much easier than the punch cards we've always had. No electronic voting machines.

It weird seeing that they have trouble in Colorado with the power going out and they can't go on because they check the status on laptops. Here they have a big book with all people eligible to vote there. You go and tell them who you are. If you eligble there, you have a sheet and they tear off a piece and have you sign it. They check the signature and you get a ballot.

[teegee420]

I've been voting via absentee ballots since my county switched to electronic voting mahcines(Diebold, I believe) in 2004.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

first it was electronic
then it was hanging chads
then it was electronic again
then we had fill in the dots
now we have electronic again....

[ZAPPER]

Is there something about having to stand in the cold November rain to have to vote?

[lordsmurf]

Electronic. Reminds me of a tablet PC with a touchscreen. I voted early.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Is there something about having to stand in the cold November rain to have to vote?

Cold??
It was 80 here today and mid 70's yesterday.
Gotta love life in the Colorado Rockies....
Supposed to snow again this weekend (we got over a foot in less than 5 hours 2 weeks ago).

[Conquest10]

It was beautiful yesterday. 50s and "foggy". I didn't have to wait at all to vote. Went in the early afternoon and even hung around for a little while. Even got to keep some campaign signs.

[ZAPPER]

I just seem to recall that it was really just a cold miserable misty/rainy day 3 out of the 4 last times that I voted and maybe about every other time it was hit or miss. I also remember once here in Georgia it being very hot in a little school gym and people were falling out from the heat while standing in line.