A California state elections official implies that the Secretary of State was coerced into verifying electronic voting machines that “caused polls to open late and voters to be turned away March 2.”
Preliminary research suggests that 36 percent of the San Diego County’s 1,611 polls were unable to open on time for the primary; it is unknown how many voters were turned away or how many did not return. Is this how we want to run a democracy?
The accusation came at a public hearing on the issue. Electronic voting machines were praised by representatives of the disabled community, who said that they were much easier to use than punch cards. I certainly hope so! But would they have been easier to use than paper and pen/pencil and optical scanners? I doubt it — and the scanned paper system is cheaper. And more secure.
