Touch-screen voting lets others see choices

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/113420736528750.xml?ocoth&coll=2

Saturday, December 10, 2005
Terry Oblander

-- ...The voting machines provide little protection from prying eyes. Tilted screens make it easier for others to see whether you voted for the new school tax -- particularly for voters who chose a large typeface on the computer screen.

Medina elections board member Pam Miller, the Democratic Party chairwoman, said she felt uncomfortable when she found that the new screens offered little protection from prying eyes. She said she missed the old days when you could pull the curtains behind you as you entered a voting booth...

Portage County Elections Director Lois Enlow said her board will experiment with ways to make voting more secure. She said she does not know "if there is a perfect solution to the issue."

Enlow said there would be no problems if voters just heeded what their teachers used to tell them: "Keep your eyes on your own papers."

toblander@plaind.com, 800-683-7348

last time i voted, it was on a touch screen and there was a booth and a curtain attached to it.

of all the intractable problems with electronic voting, this ain't one of 'em.

You put the thing in some kind of booth with a curtain. It doesn't have to come attached to the machine, just use some custom made booths. And the "keep your eyes on your own papers" statement is just stupid.

Of course, they shouldn't be using those damned machines to begin with...

This is a non-issue. 3M makes and currently advertises on TV a product that does not allow viewing a screen unless you are directly in front of the screen. These petty issues allow DRE vendors a chance to say how great they are at solving problems. Also this shows how stupid election officials are. There are very simple ways to configure the layout so that people can not see what you are doing. This is a waste of newsprint. It could be spent on the real issues.

of course his employer wouldn't let him go very far with it anyway.

toblander@plaind.com, 800-683-7348