There was nothing more reliable then the old voting booths with its curtain and levers. When the 2000 election became a major mess due to paper punch out cards with "chads" the problem was the voters in Florida weren't up with the times, they were using a system whereby the local government would spend money on paper every election day and voters had to punch out who they wanted elected (then punch them again once in office, literally!). But kidding aside the times they weren't up to was a system of booths with curtains and levers that never seemed to be a problem with anyone anywhere.
But since the mess in Florida calls for reform was in order including Connecticut. In meeting the challenge of reform we now have paper ballots, just like in Florida, replacing a system that was full proof with a tried and potentially failed system of paper ballots with marker pens instead of punch out chads.
Its reform for reform sake. It is not fixing what is broken its fixing what is, well, fixed. The old system was mechanical the new system is paper that is scanned in an electric scanner. What could go wrong we don't know yet. If there is a power outage then we would think that the paper could be scanned at a later date. Then we have to trust a system where someone has a thick envelope of votes in his car transporting them to a location where there is power to another scanner. We trust that this is what would happen, we also trust that there will be enough marker pens if they become dry, we also trust that enough paper would be printed up so that the voting place doesn't run out. In all this we trust. But what is trust if there is a system in place that is rigged? If you wanted to rig the old system it would be difficult if not impossible. The mechanical machines were simple devices with no electrical or computer hardrive components, no paper to run out of, no markers to replace, scanners, nothing. We replaced a one step process in a more vulnerable system that could conceivable become manipulated. But in won't be, right? In Waterbury we could always trust our mayor whomever holds the office at anytime, are you worried?
