Of Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida,

[Binders Keepers]

do all four states have paper backups?

[BainsBane]

1. Florida does not.

I don't know about the rest. I think at least parts of Ohio use the same machines that FL does: e-voting machines with NO paper trail.

[Binders Keepers]

2. thanks. figures it would be florida and ohio

[Ms. Toad]

3. Ohio has either paper ballots or

e-voting with some form of VVPAT (paper back-up).

The paper (either ballot of the tape on the VVPAT) is legally the official ballot (from a practical standpoint, reconstructing the vote from the VVPAT tape would be quite a task - particularly on the ES&S machines where each touch creates an instantaneous record (so mistakes/changing of minds would be like trying to interpret a keystroke logger on your computer).

[BainsBane]

5. Are voters able to review that VVPat?

Or do they only see their vote on a touch screen?

[Ms. Toad]

7. They are supposed to review it,

and not cast the ballot until the printout is correct. VVPAT means Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail.

Whether many actually do, or not, I don't know. I suspect the rate is similar to the number of people who actually read the license agreement before clicking to agree to the terms & conditions.

[flamingdem]

13. We might be needing those paper ballots

for a recount, hope not.

[LoveIsNow]

8. I don't know where you got that information,

but I live in Florida, and the past two elections I have voted in person and filled out a paper ballot by hand and fed it in the optical scan machine by hand. At least in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, they do not use touch screens.

[BainsBane]

9. I lived in Florida until 2007

and then they didn't have paper back ups. In Palm Beach County we voted on e-machines with no back ups. If they have since changed, I couldn't be more delighted to be wrong.

Do you know if the change was state wide or if voting methods may still vary by county?

[LoveIsNow]

11. I looked it up and it is statewide

I would give the link but I don't know how to do it on this iPhone. I googled optical scan Florida. Apparently they were implemented in 08.

[BainsBane]

12. Wonderful!

That is what we use in MN. It's a good system. I'm so glad FL changed. Happy E-day!

[unc70]

4. NC has paper backups

We do hand recounts. Do a sample of handcounts / recoubts at random.

Sources for all software in voting machines and scanners is required to be in escrow where it can be reviewed by experts for each party and by the State.

We had a disaster in 2004, able to get just enough bipartisan support to get new laws passed. Some companies withdrew from NC after the new laws.

[susanna]

14. Some companies withdrew? That's interesting.

As a technical person, I respect immensely the fact that all of the software is held in escrow for contests. That's how it should be.

I'm in an urban area where I used the old voting booths (with levers!) until about five years ago. Now we fill in the ovals on a paper ballot and scan it, personally, through a machine and the paper is kept as backup for contests.

[dsc]

6. wake county (NC) largest county home of Raleigh

uses paper ballots (optical scan).

[ohheckyeah]

10. My polling place in Virginia does not. n/t