Reach Out and Touch (Screen) Someone

I had my first encounter with a touch-screen voting booth today. I found it a vast improvement over Henrico County’s previous, mechanical voting technology. The instructions were clear — no room for confusion whatsoever. There was a brief delay as I stood in line while poll watchers made an hourly check on the machines — some kind of fraud prevention procedure. What an improvement!


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4 responses to “Reach Out and Touch (Screen) Someone”

  1. Anonymous Avatar

    Well I hope you voted for Webb!

  2. we had touch screens in Spotsy for the first time. The problem was that they replaced 12 or so fill-in-the-bubble ballot stations with 5 touch screen stations. Add in the delay from poll workers helping (mostly senior citizens) folks with the touch screens and things went rather slow. I wrote up the experience in detail at my blog.

    I didn’t have any problem with the touch screens, but people that are ‘afraid” of computers tend to react oddly and slowly to them.

  3. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    Ditto where I vote in Spotsy.

    If we have a heavy turnout… there are going to be long lines as people who are not
    familiar with technology are going to flummoxed.

  4. Ray Hyde Avatar

    In Delaplane they ran out of paper ballots on account of high turnout.

    I’d prefer a paper ballot with an audit trail, and I make my living off of high tech.

    Still, the touch screen was COOL, and it seemed to work OK.

    But, since I’m a high tech guy, I still worry. I can see the problems that could develop.

    Newspeak, anyone?

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