John

"at a cost of up to $35 million" ...

the loss of the certainty of democracy is a greater cost as we all know.

I hear paper ballots cost about a penny each ... clue?

McDonalds elections and McDonald democracy ... send in The Donald and tell The Dick "you're fired".

Dredd

Paper ballots can cost over $0.35 a piece. There is no way they are as cheap as a penny.

Consider that they are printed on card stock and the printing has to be precision so all of the important printed areas line-up exactly when they are scanned.

ES&S tells their customers that they require a special formula paper that only they can provide. That ensures customers though those who go out and use other card stock have no problems.

The paper is not cheap but paper based systems are still much cheaper to operate year after year than DRE voting systems.

Hello again.

I've been taking a severely needed break from politics (etc.) for the past month or two; but I couldn't resist drawing your attention to an article (linked at the end), which, in part, describes Brian Bilbray's behavior during the peace demonstration last Saturday in Washington, DC:

"Brian Bilbray was arrogant and rude. When any of the women in our group tried to speak he interrupted them... Referring to the march on Saturday, his first words were, 'So I guess you folks were here for the hoopla.' HOOPLA??? At least ten more American troops have died in Iraq since masses of American patriots took to the streets last Saturday in cities across the country, and he thinks it’s all a party.

"Bilbray never answered a question, he deflected questions! He blamed the problems in the Middle East on Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. He showed no depth of understanding, only bravado, as he declared that he had won the election by a clear majority. 'You people have a right to do what you’re doing, but my job is to make the decisions,' he stated. Sound familiar?

As we left his office, I said to Leigh Mahon, who had been a key part of Francine Busby’s campaign team, 'Imagine how different this experience would have been if the votes had been fairly counted and Francine Busy had won.' 'She would have served us coffee!' remarked Judy Hess."

The full story may be read here: Camera Crews Threatened With Arrest for Filming Peace Demonstration

Bilbray and Sensebrenner are two peas in a pod. Not an ounce of respect for the American people. Lots of respect for Aldolf Hitler.