Electronic Voting in Utah
I voted in today’s Republican Primary, and it was my first experience with Utah’s new electronic voting machines. (I used Virginia’s electronic voting machines a few years ago, and was not particularly impressed by them.)
The touch-screen ballot was clear and easy to use. After I made my selections, it confirmed them on the screen, allowing me a chance to go back and change them if I realized I’d made a mistake. (I don’t live in Palm Beach, so I hadn’t.)
Then — and this is the part I like best — it printed my votes on some paper that I could view through a window, allowing me again to confirm that my vote was being recorded properly. If I had noticed an error on the paper version, I could have cancelled that ballot and corrected my vote. Only after confirming the correctness of the paper ballot was my vote recorded.
It seems this system is well-designed to counter the problems encountered in recent elections, and the paper trail provides a nice way to confirm the vote, thus avoiding some of the conspiracy theories about stolen elections.
It sounds like Utah may have gotten it right! Thanks for the clear description of the voting procedure and various features of the machine.
Great description about the voting process for the Republican primary. I showed up, but was denied the right to vote, due to the improper party registration. I guess I will have to electronically vote vicariously through your experience, for now.
It will surprise some people to hear this, but years ago I actually registered to vote as a Democrat. I’d forgotten all about that, until Miss Liberty mentioned being denied the right to vote due to improper party registration.