Bruce is ever practical and these three write ups, Voting Technology and Security, The Inherent Inaccuracy of Voting, and More on Electronic Voting Machines, pretty well nail down the particular, real world issues with the various voting irregularities and problems. As always, he even has some good, implementable advice on how to improve the state of affairs:
In Minnesota, we use paper ballots counted by optical scanners, and we have some of the most well-run elections in the country. To anyone reading this who needs to buy new election equipment, this is what to buy.
On the other hand, I am increasingly of the opinion that an all mail-in election — like Oregon has — is the right answer. Yes, there are authentication issues with mail-in ballots, but these are issues we have to solve anyway, as long as we allow absentee ballots. And yes, there are vote-buying issues, but almost everyone considers them to be secondary. The combined benefits of 1) a paper ballot, 2) no worries about long lines due to malfunctioning or insufficient machines, 3) increased voter turnout, and 4) a dampening of the last-minute campaign frenzy make Oregon’s election process very appealing.
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