Electronic Voting, Yikes!

I voted in the primary using the new touch screen system.
It's absolutely the most stupid and dangerous new technology 
seduction I can think of EVER.  Oh sure, the system I used was easy 
to use.  (Except for the lady next to me who tried to shove 
the 'credit card' ballot in backwards....., that doesn't work)

But let me pontificate:

Here's what happens after you finish your voting:
[voting screen]: "Cast Your Vote?"
I click "Yes".

Whrrrrrr.
My vote is written to the 'credit card' ballot.  No printout,
no paper trail.  I hand the credit card ballot to the precinct
official and they drop it in the box, presumably to be read later
by an electronic ballot reader machine.  Or maybe my vote was in
the computer still, I don't know.  I'm not stupid but I didn't know
were my vote really was anymore.
(There are Sooooo many things wrong with this, but here's what 
screams to my mind.)
I say to the official, "I'm not sure that I should give you this
feedback, but this method is ridiculous.  There is a roomful
of intelligent people here and NOT ONE OF US can read these votes
without the use of some machine.  How can you ever have a verifiable
recount with this method?"

She said "You're not the first to complain.  In fact, there IS an
output for a printer on the voting machines but it isn't being used.
There COULD be a paper trail, but they didn't give us a printer.
We are suggesting that your write your congressman and senator
to tell them about this".

Damn straight, we BETTER write our congressmen and senators!

I know enough about computer programming to know that is would 
be EASY to write a program that reads your 'credit card' ballot
BUT TALLIES IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY.  In fact, it would be easy to 
rewrite your 'credit card' ballot so that a recount would show the 
same results.  (I'm sorry Mr. Sult, but you DID vote for prop 57,
it says so right here on your 'credit card' ballot)

The lack of a paper trail is absolutely insane.
But that's not even the worst part.

When an election is in dispute, we need the votes to be in a medium
in which the average citizen can participate in evaluating the recount.
Nobody but computer geeks will know what to do with the credit card ballots.
You can't hold 'em up to a bright light and see what the votes were.
We're helpless, we have to wait for the the computer geeks and their
machines to tell us the results.  

We're doomed!

(No offense to computer geeks, I aspire to BE a computer 
geek one day, so that I can take a bazillion dollar bribe.)

--------------
SIDEBAR:  I read an interesting article about the "new clergy", i.e.
the computer programming field.  Our entire world is being filtered
through their interface.  But THAT'S a different rant.
--------------

Sure the 'chads' were a problem, but the method I was subjected to is 
no solution.  I propose that we return to a simple method of voting. 
i.e. Durable card stock, on which we make marks with permanent ink over 
a stencil ballot.  The computer can read the ink markings, it can still 
be really fast.  But if there is a need for a recount, any citizen can 
look at the ballot card and see if the ink mark is in column 2 or 3 or 
whatever.  Then we can be assured that the votes aren't being "massaged" 
a little.

Just think, if I WAS a major computer geek, I could easily fix it so
that a bunch of Commie Pinko guys got elected, and you don't want
that.  So if YOUR county is using this insane voting method write your 
congressman and senator and ask them, "ARE YOU NUTS? We must have a 
paper trail on our elections!"

Big Brother is really knocking at the door
Let's not invite this Big Brother in.