[Tfug] Quick question about Python...

[David Cowell]

        On Sun, May 11, 2008 at 4:54 PM, Matt Jacob <m at mattjacob.com>
        wrote: 
                Andrew Ayre wrote:
                > Why is it needed? What's wrong with writing an "X" on
                a piece of paper?
                > Seems to work fine for some other countries.
                
                
                I'm wondering the same thing. Why is electronic voting
                better than
                optical recognition ballots?
                
                Matt
        
        Matt, optical scanning isn't perfect either.  You still have
        electronic processing of the paper at the precinct, and then
        processing again at the central tabulator.
        
        Arizona is one of the states where candidates aren't allowed to
        pay for a recount themselves if they smell a rat.  Full recounts
        can happen, but only if the race is ridiculously close (less
        than 1/10th of 1%).  And even then, it's a MACHINE recount, not
        a hand recount...
        
        They recently added a 2% hand audit, but that can be gamed...
        
        Jim

I imagine that "optical scanning" is not what most of the rest of the
world uses.

It seems that the low-tech solution that was used until voting machines
came around (the "hand count" of ballots in front of two people) is at
least as reliable as any doctorable machine method. Why *don't* we use
it? Do we really trust techno solutions more than we trust people?

David