# Let's Design a "Perfect" Voting System **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2000, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234 "2000-12-12T20:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234/1 "2000-12-12T20:34:49Z")
Considering the recent problems in Florida there have been recent discussiond of different existing voting systems. The problems with punc cards are well documented. The age and unreliability of levers, the requirements of optical scanning, the lack of paper trail for ATM-style voting machines got me to thinking… Why not have an ATM style machine that printed out an “optical” scan like ballot. That takes place at one station, then the voter goes to another station and places the ballot into a machine that displays the choices as indicated by this ballot, the voter then confirms it is correct and they are finished. If it is not correct it is returned with the word “INVALID” printed across where the voter is then allowed to vote again. Of course, this sounds very expensive, but this is just a thought experiment. ---
**Author:** ![jeel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71e660/32.png) [@jeel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234/2 "2000-12-12T20:39:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tretiak \* > \*\* > Of course, this sounds very expensive, but this is just a thought experiment. \*\* You have to pay for the system being foolproof. I like your idea. The voter should confirm his/her intent…not somebody else. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234/3 "2000-12-12T21:19:39Z")
This is similar to the system they used in SanFran > [@](#): > > Here’s how the balloting worked in San Francisco this election. This year we got the Optech Eagle. It’s a machine about 3 feet high, 2 feet wide and 4 feet long that reads ballots marked with a pen and feeds them into bins below. If you mark a ballot twice, it rejects your ballot and prints out a message: “Overvote.” This is from an article in Salon: [http://www.salon.com/people/feature/2000/11/11/pollworker/index.html](http://www.salon.com/people/feature/2000/11/11/pollworker/index.html) Read the article to hear how bad it actually went, but here’s an example: > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, this guy who’s voted wants to put his things through the machine, so you take them from him and turn to put them through the machine and one of them gets spit out. But you turn and he’s already in his truck driving off. So you push the override button but the machine won’t take the ballot. So here’s a ballot that has been voted and deserves to be counted but the machine won’t take it. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234/4 "2000-12-12T22:19:48Z")
I don’t know, the mechanical lever voting machines we have in NY seem pretty easy to use; once you press a lever in any particular row the machine prevents you from pressing another. If you change your mind you can reset it and start over. I’ve never heard of people complaining that they were confused with them. Seems to me that they could develop an electronic version of this machine so the results were tallied automatically (I believe with the existing machines the results need to be read off the machine at the end of the day). ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234/5 "2000-12-12T23:47:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tretiak \* > \*\* Of course, this sounds very expensive, but this is just a thought experiment. \*\* I think this will get a better reception in IMHO. I’ll shoot the thread over there for you. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234/6 "2000-12-13T05:03:35Z")
Problem with the machines in NY is, while they are easy to use, if they are broken, it takes hours to fix, delaying many votes in that district. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2000, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-design-a-perfect-voting-system/45234/7 "2000-12-13T19:34:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capacitor \* > \*\*Problem with the machines in NY is, while they are easy to use, if they are broken, it takes hours to fix, delaying many votes in that district. \*\* I heard that these NY machines were broken so frequently, the come with paper ballots stored in the back of the machine. Plus, they weigh like 900lbs (not that that’s relevent, just interesting)