What kind of machine did you vote on?

[Pam]

I had the usual lever-type machine but a co-worker who lives about a half hour away voted with a computerized keypad machine as did my daughter in Maryland. I felt like I was living in the Dark Ages with my lever machine until I realized there are people still fooling around with chads, etc. :rolleyes:

[cali]

lol I have never heard of computerized voting machines, around here, I dont know about other places in canada but we still use paper ballots as id a sheet of paper you put a chmark beside who you want to vote for, fold it and drop it into a padlocked box lol and the voting booths are cardboard and set up to divide tables. I know all this only because my mom works at the polls every year :p

[K9soul]

Paper ballot here :p

[Freckles]

Paper ballot, but we use a pen to blacken the small oval next to the person or measure we are voting on. Oregon is entirely vote by mail, so we have two weeks to return our ballots. At the time 71% of us have!:)

[aly]

I had the lever machine thingamabob :)

[RICHARD]

INK A DOT!!!!


A really neat new voting machine.

Like the old 'chad' style- you slide the ballot in- but instead of the old stylus, you 'punch' the new stylus next to the canidate/issue you are voting for and it marks the ballot with ink.


Think of a Magic Marker without the nib....It marked each box with a nice black circle...

Very impressive!!!

I liked it!

[anna_66]

Originally posted by Freckles
Paper ballot, but we use a pen to blacken the small oval next to the person or measure we are voting on.
Same here.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Freckles
Paper ballot, but we use a pen to blacken the small oval next to the person or measure we are voting on. Oregon is entirely vote by mail, so we have two weeks to return our ballots. At the time 71% of us have!:)

Wow, that's different! I've never heard of a state where everyone votes by mail.

My mom lives in a small town near Green Bay, WI where they still use a pen to blacken out the oval. She is a poll worker and she says they sit there and manually count the ovals. Yes, that's right, no machine involved what-so-ever! I'm not sure of the exact procedure, but it's something like they count the total number of ballots and then they count the votes for each condidate. The numbers have to match exactly or they have to count all over again! Talk about the dark ages! By the end of the day they are all usually pretty tired and missed countings are not unusual, so sometimes they sit there for quite awhile before everything is correct and can be submitted. I didn't ask her if they send the votes in on the back of a donkey though. ;)

Here in one of the biggest citites in the country - I vote on a paper punch out card, which yes - can have the dreaded chads! :eek: They do have a machine they put the ballot in when you're done. It doesn't read the votes or anything, just makes sure that everything is punched correctly. So, say for instance I voted for Bush and Kerry, it would tell the poll worker that there is an error and I needed a new card to vote again. I'm assuming they do this to try and eliminate some of the "hangings" and "pregnants." ;)

Oops, I goofed, I don't vote in one of the biggest cities in the country - just one of its suburbs, but still, you think we'd get with the times already, but I guess that takes money which Cook County doesn't have a whole lot of right now. ;)

[Uabassoon]

Originally posted by Freckles
[B]Paper ballot, but we use a pen to blacken the small oval next to the person or measure we are voting on. /B]

That's how I voted. I always vote early though so I'm not sure how they actually vote on election day .

[lizzielou742]

Optical scan here. It's a paper ballot scanned by a machine. Think "Scantron."

[Logan]

Pam, we had our first "all computer" election in Greenville County today. We had always had punch cards in the past. It was easy, but no easier than punching those cards before. :)

[RedHedd]

San Francisco has the scanner-type machines

[zippy-kat]

computerized :)

[Corinna]

we had the pencil and black out ovals. I haven't done those since high school.

[tatsxxx11]

Absentee ballot, a few weeks ago. In the past, it's been the lever system (ancient!) But this year, NJ was going computerized. Hope my vote counts!:confused:

[lizbud]

Originally posted by lizzielou742
Optical scan here. It's a paper ballot scanned by a machine. Think "Scantron."

Same here. We use a pen to darken in oval choices & the form
is fed through a scanner.

[trayi52]

I voted with the usual lever-type machine, we live in a small town. :D

Willie:)

[Samantha Puppy]

All of Maryland went to the touch-screen computer screen. It was very easy, allowed you to view your ballot before casting it and make changes if you wanted - much better than what we used to have!

[KYS]

Paper ballot where you had to fill in the circle with
a pen.

Easy to use.

[Karen]

Paper ballot where you fill in the ovals - more rounded rectangles, really - with a black marker that is provided. You then feed it into a machine, and the nice policeman says "okay, your vote has been recorded."

[pitc9]

Touch screen, very easy and very quick!!

[Phoebe]

computerized with a little wheel that acts like a mouse...pretty kewlhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v367/pamelagraves/pamela2strip.gif

[RubyMutt]

I voted by paper ballot as I have an absentee ballot. However, the polling places in my county have electronic ballots.

[Fox-Gal]

Paper and a pen to darken in the oval's


I haven't done those since high school
That's just what I said as we left........ Brought back memories. lol

[micki76]

Touch screen. We've had them for quite a while for such a small town.

Yes, I finally made up my mind and decided to vote! Yay me! :p

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

We used the touch screen..
Walked right up and voted. We voted at the police station like 2 minutes if that from the house.. It took us a total of 10 minutes to get there vote and get home.
A wonderful first experience!:)

[wolf_Q]

Paper ballot/punch outs. Placed in a cardboard box with a slit at the top after. Really hi-tech. :D

[NoahsMommy]

I voted absentee. :) So I punched holes out of a paper ballot.

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by Freckles
Paper ballot, but we use a pen to blacken the small oval next to the person or measure we are voting on.

Same here

[neko1]

Last time we had the lever machine...this time we had the touch screen.:)

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Originally posted by Freckles
Paper ballot, but we use a pen to blacken the small oval next to the person or measure we are voting on.

here too

[Felicia's Mom]

Paper ballot with a circle next to each name. The circle was filled in with ink, then feed into a machine.
I like the machines with the levers, but haven't seen those for a long time.

[CathyBogart]

I voted by absentee ballot. :) Incomplete arrows next to each name, fill in the arrows next to the name of the person you're voting for.

[wolflady]

I voted electronic. They asked me if I wanted paper or electronic, and of course I chose the electronic :) I was surprised at the lines at the polls!!

[Blustang24]

I voted on a computerized touch screen machine. It was very simple and quick. I was there, in, out, and on my way in about 40-45 minutes...which wasn't bad.

[Cinder & Smoke]

:)
"We" waited til about 2 PM to avoid the early and late "rush" periods...

Middle School parking lot had a few empty spaces, so parking was a breeze!
Into the Gym and walked right up to Precinct #1 Registration Table:
"Hi, Phred; what's your Name?"
Phred
"What's your Address?"
Gave number & street...
"HERE he is!" <points to name, address & signature> in The BOOK.
"Sign In, please!"
<scribbles name into Sign In Book>

Two "Girls" <*LOOK*> <Hmmmm...>
#1 ~ "It's a *MATCH*! Must be him!"
#2 ~ "Looks OK ta me; give him his *slip*"
#3 ~ "You're # 264"
#4 ~ "Follow me!" <leads me to a vacant voting machine>
Inserts her "key" module; hits the "Authorized" button ~
... You know how to "Do This"??"
Yes, m'am!
(Our County "went modern" last year with the
"New, 'Lektronic Computerized Touch-Screen Terminals";
this was my second *Vote* with the New Equipment!)
"Press the Big, Red, *blinking* "VOTE" button when you've finished.
Now, give me BACK your #264 *slip*!"

Read, select, *TOUCH* - see the lil "X" appear! NEAT!!

Review the "summary pages"...
Big RED, "VOTE" button starts *BLINKIN*!
<Pushes "VOTE" button>

Screen says "Thank You - Your VOTE has been <Recorded>!" ...
<*zipppp*> and the screen goes *blank*...
WHUTT!?? No *BEEP*!?? :(

"Here Phred ~ don't furget your "I VOTED" sticker!!
See ya next year!! ;)

In, *Voted*, and Out in about 20 minutes!

:D
.

[smokey the elder]

I used one of the 40 year old lever style voting booths.

[Freckles]

Originally posted by Freckles
Paper ballot, but we use a pen to blacken the small oval next to the person or measure we are voting on.
I described fully HOW I voted, but forgot to mention my vote was counted with an Optical Scanner. Until recently, we needed to use black pencils only because the graphite was the sensor. This year we can use any blue or black pen!

The Christian Science Monitor yesterday show how all Americans voted:

28.9% Electronic machines
32% Optical Scanner
18.6% Punch Cards
12.8% Lever machines
-1% Paper Ballots
6.79% Mixed systems