It’s hard to believe the moment we all learned the presidential election would be recounted in Wisconsin. Thank goodness Wisconsin has paper ballots that can be physically counted again. Did you know that many of the voting machines in New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina produce a report of how the voting machines recorded the votes but there is no paper trail to allow you to count the ballots again if needed. The same is true for key counties in Pennsylvania, a consistent battleground state that uses the same system in the majority of its counties, and that is true for other states as well. Today, there are entire countries totally relying on electronic voting: Brazil, since 2000, has employed electronic voting machines and, in 2010, had 135 million electronic voters. India had 380 million electronic voters, for its Parliament election in 2004.
It is easy to see why electronic voting is the wave of the future and how the United States could model its own voting system after these countries. It’s faster, cheaper and more accessible for those with disabilities. Also, would you miss the experience of or the reporting of the every-election-day headline of “Long lines at the polls today?” Probably not. That is certainly less painful than a recount though.
… What we know is the warning signs are there. As we move towards the future, and focus on creating and protecting a new system to collect our votes, we need to protect the one we already have.
Two things you can be sure of after this year’s election: eventually, every vote you cast in an United States election will be electronic and one of those elections will be hacked. No doubt about it. But the recount in Wisconsin reminds us all why we need a back-up.
Full Article: Back to the future: Paper ballots still the best fraud prevention | TheHill.