When A Pencil And Paper Makes Sense

[R.A. Hettinga]

<http://www.forbes.com/2004/11/05/cx_ah_1105tentech_print.html>

Forbes



Ten O'Clock Tech
When A Pencil And Paper Makes Sense
Arik Hesseldahl,   11.05.04, 10:00 AM ET

Thank goodness, it's over. Sometime around 4:30 A.M. Wednesday I went to
bed, not the least bit uncertain that George W. Bush had been re-elected.

 But the one thing during this election cycle about which I have been
uncertain is electronic voting. Florida in 2000 was a mess, and in
reaction, some states and counties have turned to newfangled electronic
voting machines, thinking that computer technology is the answer to a
voting system that has started to creak under pressure.

 It seems that despite much worry about a repeat of Florida in other
states, voting has gone pretty smoothly. Electronic voting methods are
getting high marks. Of the 27,500 voting problems reported to the Verified
Voting Project, a San Francisco-based group that monitored the election for
voting problems, less than 6% of the issues reported stemmed from
electronic voting machines.

 Election officials in states like Nevada, Georgia and Hawaii gave
electronic voting systems a try. There were some problems: a memory card on
an electronic voting machine in Florida failed; five machines in Reno,
Nev., malfunctioned, causing lines to back up.

 Overall voter turnout was high. The Committee for the Study of the
American Electorate, a nonprofit, nonpartisan outfit based in Washington,
D.C., estimated that 120.2 million people, or 59.6% of those eligible to
vote, cast ballots in this election, which would be an improvement of 5%
and 15 million people, compared with the 2000 elections, and would make
2004's turnout the highest since 1968.

 Still, that's not as high as voter participation in my home state of
Oregon, where 1.7 million people, or nearly 82% of those eligible, voted.

 In Oregon, voters cast their votes from home rather than going to a
polling place. They submit their ballots by mail. The state abolished
polling places in 1998 and has been voting entirely by mail ever since.

 Voters get their ballots roughly two weeks before election day. This year
some were delayed because of an unexpectedly high number of voter
registrations. Ballots must be received by county elections offices by 8
P.M. on the day of the election. Drop boxes are located throughout the
state, as well.

 Voting should indeed take time and effort. It's undoubtedly important. But
I like Oregon's common-sense approach. Voting from the comfort of your own
home eliminates the inherent disincentive that comes from having to stand
on a long line, for example.

 It's pretty simple. Oregon voters fill out their ballots using a pencil,
just like those standardized tests everyone took in high school. If they
want to write in a candidate, the ballot allows for that, too.

 I thought of this as I stood for about 45 minutes in a long, cold line at
6:30 A.M. to vote in my neighborhood in New York's Upper East Side.
Throughout the day I heard reports from around the country of people who
had to stand in line for as long as eight hours so they could vote, and I
wondered how many others just threw up their hands in frustration because
they had someplace else to be.

 The mail-in ballot also gives the voter a little time to consider his or
her choice. Too often, voters will enter a voting booth knowing a few of
the people they intend to vote for, but read about some ballot initiative
or amendment for the first time. Rather than having to make a snap decision
in the voting booth, having a ballot handy at home can give voters time to
educate themselves and make a more informed decision.

 Sometimes, the best solution isn't a computer at all, but a good
old-fashioned pencil and paper.

 Click here for more Ten O'Clock Tech Columns




-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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