Op-Ed by SOS Bill Bradbury in the Portland Oregonian
I think this is important for two reasons, it indicates that the issue is getting mainstream media attention as will as attention from a mainstream politician, and because vote by mail is an alternative I haven't seen discussed at all in the BBV discussions here.
The mobile voting machines for the disabled is particularly interesting.
http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/106812435783310.xml"Across the nation, there has been growing concern about the reliability and trustworthiness of electronic, touch-screen voting devices. Last Friday, The Oregonian printed a wire story ("Distrust of electronic voting machines is on the rise," The Associated Press) discussing some of these worries -- fraud, the ability to recount, confidence in technology. I want to assure voters that things are different in Oregon.
Because Oregonians vote by mail, we will retain paper ballots for every voter. These paper ballots are tallied by optical scanning machines -- similar to the machines used for standardized tests -- soon to be in place in all Oregon counties. While some states are replacing all their voting equipment with touch-screen devices, the Oregon vote-by-mail system of paper ballots simply does not contemplate a full switch to touch-screen voting.
In mail voting, the envelope containing each paper ballot is checked against each voter's registration signature card to prevent fraud. Elections officials then keep the ballots in case a recount is necessary.A cross the nation, there has been growing concern about the reliability and trustworthiness of electronic, touch-screen voting devices. Last Friday, The Oregonian printed a wire story ("Distrust of electronic voting machines is on the rise," The Associated Press) discussing some of these worries -- fraud, the ability to recount, confidence in technology. I want to assure voters that things are different in Oregon.
Because Oregonians vote by mail, we will retain paper ballots for every voter. These paper ballots are tallied by optical scanning machines -- similar to the machines used for standardized tests -- soon to be in place in all Oregon counties. While some states are replacing all their voting equipment with touch-screen devices, the Oregon vote-by-mail system of paper ballots simply does not contemplate a full switch to touch-screen voting.
snip
The Oregon plan for implementing the Help America Vote Act calls for each county to have at least two electronic voting devices, one permanently housed at the county elections office, and one mobile unit that can be transported by election staff to a location that suits the voter. These machines will allow people with disabilities to cast their votes with the same confidentiality and independence that others take for granted. We intend to have the electronic voting option for disabled voters in place by 2006."