Comments on: Votes Cost More With Technology

By: paul

paul — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:02:31 +0000

It seems to me it would be worth the effort to have a ballot printed out for the voter at the time of the election. To be more clear here… rather than have a bunch of waste paper at the end of the election simply print a ballot that is specific to the voter and the election.

A matrix could be developed that would cover all the elements of the election for any given voter at any given precinct. You have to sign in anyway…how much longer would it take to print a ballot out on a high speed printer for each elector?

The model here is much the same as when you appear to pick up your airline ticket. You insert your id and the ticket stuff is printed for you specifically and you get your departure point and destination.

It seems pretty simple to me if some of the whiz-bang computer nerds can get together and cut some code for the end product desired.

By: TJ

TJ — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:12:08 +0000

The fire department in Eagle had a stealth election a few years back – the election was the same day as the regular election but you had to go to a particular fire station to vote for a new station. The bond issue won with less than 300 votes. There were close to 3000 voters at the regular polling place. No one at the regular polling place mentioned it, so I have to assume everyone was on the take.

By: Zippo

Zippo — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:45:40 +0000

Voting is a joke if they don’t tell us openly in the mainstream media when an election will be held… Homedale had a $5M stealth school vote.

By: Cowgirlkeeler

Cowgirlkeeler — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:11:42 +0000

Quote~EDITOR NOTE–Eric, you wanna spoil all the GUARDIAN fun! We have Commish, Councilor, Team Dave, Guv, Supremes, Coppers, Growthophobes, and now you wanna replace CZAR with, “CHIEF DEPUTY ADA COUNTY CLERK/AUDITOR/RECORDER.” Give me a break. End of qoute. Its great the paper is having fun but let me clarify that my brother in law isn’t a czar of any sorts but maybe of comic relief character! 🙂 Otherwise a great story!

By: Timm!

Timm! — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:58:39 +0000

The optical scanners are probably the best kind of electronic voting tech currently available. They’re similar to the “Scantron” test sheets that kids have been using in schools at least since I was in JR High (mid 90s) There will be small ovals or bubbles that you’ll fill in with a dark pencil or pen to indicate your choice. The ballots can be read rapidly by a machine for quick counting, but there is still a pretty obvious paper record available for hand counts when the inevitable challenge or dispute arrives. Given the other electronic voting methods available, I’m glad the state went with the scanners – touch screen voting booths and other paperless methods are an absolute nightmare. I personally wouldn’t vote on machines like that as there no way I could be convinced that my vote was counted properly. The electronic scanner is an older, well established technology that leaves a paper trail at least as reliable as the ones left by the punch cards.

As for the uniform election dates – Bravo! Participation in the myriad of elections, ballot issues and bond proposals can only be enhanced by having set, predictable, days on which elections will occur. School districts hold bond elections on back to school nights to make sure that parents, the people most likely to vote for an election, are the ones given the most notice about and have the best chance to vote for it. If you don’t have a kid in school, are you going to know when back to school night is? Probably not, which means people are missing the chance to have their voice heard, both pro and con. Could be good fir irrigation districts, too. My father has been very active in his irrigation district for years, and getting people to come to the annual meeting to vote on things like repairs or improvements to the district or changes in the annual assessment fee is like pulling teeth. The result is, the “decided minority” (as he puts it) of people who do show up get to run the show for everyone in the district. Maybe now that there’s a specific, Official Voting Day, more people will get involved.

The next step the state needs to take is mandate uniform ballots – having two and half times the number ballot types as precincts? That’s just absurd.

By: erico49

erico49 — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:35:23 +0000

I suggest we all agree to quit using the term “czar” for people in government and go with an actual title instead.

EDITOR NOTE–Eric, you wanna spoil all the GUARDIAN fun! We have Commish, Councilor, Team Dave, Guv, Supremes, Coppers, Growthophobes, and now you wanna replace CZAR with, “CHIEF DEPUTY ADA COUNTY CLERK/AUDITOR/RECORDER.” Give me a break. 🙂

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:19:58 +0000

Fascinating

By: Gordon

Gordon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:59:18 +0000

Well, freedom is never free, but if this thing actually works, it may be worth the money.
Then again, if it crashes election night …..