You Can Still Vote with Paper, But Nobody is Going to Tell You That

Ok, this isn’t really about the Internet, but it is about technology, and it’s important, and hey, it’s my site, so I’ll cry if I want to (oops, wrong song).

Many, many counties in the country are going to, or indeed, have already gone to, electronic voting. A large number of voters on Tuesday will be confronted with electronic polling machines, many for the very first time.

Some machines provide a paper trail, in the form of a printed receipt memorializing your choices. (Aunty wonders whether they are in code, or whether this means that the poll volunteer could see how you voted, which of course is an issue of a different colour.)

Some machines do not provide any paper trail.

Some voters not only want a paper trail, but, by golly, they don’t want electronic voting at all, being perfectly content with paper ballots.

In California, those counties which have moved to electronic machines have agreed to make available paper “provisional” ballots for those voters who prefer paper to pixels.

However, several of the counties have decided that they will not actually tell voters that they have that option. Worse, at least three counties, Alameda, Merced, and San Bernardino, have decided that voters who have the temerity to request a paper ballot will have their vote treated as if… [Continued...]