Brad, how do you propose that counties conduct early voting, or non-precinct-specific "voting centers" as being instituted in some counties around the country, with paper ballots? Some jusrisdictions have upwards of 1,000 ballot styles. With paper ballots only, each voting location would have to have sufficient copies of each one of those hundreds of ballot styles on hand, whether they're used or not. And those paper ballots would still be scanned using an electronic scanner such as the Diebold one hacked in Florida and then the data would still be read into a computer system to tally the results.

Or maybe you think voters should just be denied early voting and the convenience of voting away from their home neighborhoods. So much for "serving the voters".

Print-on-demand ballot would possibly be an alternative, but there are no such solutions available at this time and there would be security issues with those, as well.

Reading the glut of suggestions and criticism from the peanut gallery on your web site and many others, I have the impression very few of you have any idea whatsoever how an election actually works. Why don't each of you get a job with a county registrar's office for a while and then, once you've become educated, come back and make some truly valuable recommendations rather than just throwing stones from the street. Do your homework, people. You look silly and ignorant to those who know how it really works.

Tom Wilson said -

Some jusrisdictions have upwards of 1,000 ballot styles. With paper ballots only, each voting location would have to have sufficient copies of each one of those hundreds of ballot styles on hand, whether they're used or not.

Well, actually, in state's like California, they are already required to have paper ballots available to every voter. And while you are certainly exaggerating in your "1,000 ballot styles" statement, I assure you that it'll be cheaper - and more notable - more accurate and confidence-building for democracy to have those paper ballots instead of the *far* more expensive and *far* less accurate or secure or confidence-inducing DRE's.

And those paper ballots would still be scanned using an electronic scanner such as the Diebold one hacked in Florida and then the data would still be read into a computer system to tally the results.

"Have to be?" or you prefer them to be? In anycase, while they certainly don't have to be counted by optical-scan, if they are, appropriate mandatory audit measures can be instituted to ensure a 99% scientific certainty that the scanner reported results are accurate. That, with other security measures such as NO SLEEPOVERS and open source, publicly disclosed we could begin to restore the measure of confidence and accurate necessary for our democracy.

Or maybe you think voters should just be denied early voting and the convenience of voting away from their home neighborhoods. So much for "serving the voters".

So much for a discussion based on reality. If you want to imagine my "positions" and then debate those fantasy positions, perhaps you could save us both the time by not doing so.

Reading the glut of suggestions and criticism from the peanut gallery on your web site and many others, I have the impression very few of you have any idea whatsoever how an election actually works.

And reading your one single comment full of strawman arguments, I'd have to conclude you *are* the peanut gallery, my friend. Why your condescending point here has no merit given the extraordinary amount of research, investigation and reporting I've done on this topic, I'll go ahead and stick with the opinions of world-class and respected Elections Officials and experts such as Ion Sancho, David Jefferson, Debra Bowen, Avi Rubin and on and on (I'll add the names of dozens of Elections Officials who I work with and/or speak with regularly if you insist. Just let me know. Or do some research before flapping your gums and save me the trouble. Thanks.)

Why don't each of you get a job with a county registrar's office for a while and then, once you've become educated, come back and make some truly valuable recommendations rather than just throwing stones from the street. Do your homework, people.

Cute. See my comment above. And after you've learned to stop your hating democracy, please come back and make some recommendations other than those you think will help you and/or your party do the necessary work to keep this country great.

You look silly and ignorant to those who know how it really works.

We'll let the whole wide world decide who "looks silly and ignorant" since they can all stop by here and read your comments and mine and decide for themselves.

So far, it would seem the world is on my side. But keep up the bad work, Tom! And thanks for stopping by.

re: optical scanners... wouldn't the simple solution be to allow the voting machine companies to make and sell the scanners BUT not provide the software. That MUST be Open Source!

Don

Sounds like *part* of a good solution to me, DonM.

Though Tom Wilson won't like it. Apparently he MUST use disenfranchising DRE voting systems for some unclear, or at least, unsupported reason.

Tom obviously does not know what our history is here in Maryland with our voting fiasco and our corrupt state government.

Hey Tom? Get a clue. We had NO problems voting on hand marked paper ballots. They worked. How did you get to be an expert on our state?

At least Brad takes the time to get it right and knows what is going on here. You don't. Either that or you are on someone's payroll. Perhaps Diebold? Or Lamone's?

That anyone who could not read the simple ballot even with 'different forms" must have serious deficiencies in their ability to read.

I lived the changes here in Maryland, so save it Tom.

Thank you Brad for covering our story here. You do a great job.

P.S. - I did not see the story about how they put a confusing Question 4 on the ballot that takes all the decision making in elections away from our counties and hands it all to Lamone.

Question 4 looked great, until you really read and understood it.

Voting on real ballots is just too complex for the modern man. We better not do it any more. Right Tom?