Vote Rocked (Updated)
254 words.
Well, I participated in American Democracy this morning. Somehow it doesn’t leave me feeling as patriotic as it probably should. I think it has something to do with the creepy old lady that’s always there handing out the “I voted” stickers when you leave.
For those interested in nitty-gritty details, at the Dumbarton Library just after 7:00 AM, I was voter number 6 (out of some 3100 voters in the area). There were an equal number of Stosch signs and Blackburn signs (3 each I think). There was one Blackburn supporter handing out literature (a sample ballot), and no Stosch supporters. I’m hopeful that I will not contract any diseases from the germs on the touchscreen voting machines.
As I was leaving, it occurred to me that I have absolutely no way to verify that they recorded my vote correctly. I don’t know if that’s something you could do before the touchscreens or not, but if I were going to re-design the voting process, I’d give voters a receipt with a number on it, which they could then go to a website or call a number and verify their votes.
I’m really curious to see the results of Stosch v. Blackburn and Hanger v. Sayre. I’m not sure what the lessons will be, but I have this nagging feeling that if the challengers win, it won’t be a positive step forward for democracy.
UPDATE: Mrs. Krehbiel, who voted in the afternoon, reports that she thought she saw more touchscreen fingerprints over the Stosch button.
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