Missouri offering "optional" paper ballots, NOT provisionals

I received two copies of emails today, from voters in Jackson County, that had been sent to them by the Office of the SoS. I was being asked "What is up?"

I just got off the phone with the SoS office in Missouri, and something is in the wind.

Before I could dig too far into the issue, the gentleman I was speaking to brought up the BradBlog request, noting that he had seen it online. He remarked that they (the SoS office) had not yet recieved a copy, but that the Governor's office may have.

They did seem totally aware of the issue, even mentioning the three bills that the Democrats brought up in the final week of Congress. I asked what their intent, if any, was.

I was told then that the SoS had (quietly, at some unspecified recent time) been in contact with the various 116 EDs in Missouri and that, in none of the 116 EDs, will DRE voting (even with VVPATs) be the sole option to vote.

All precincts are to have, in addition to any DREs, OpScams in operation and that the voter is to have a choice as to how their vote is to be cast.

This is not yet widely known to the voters. Hopefully notification is given to them soon.

A few calls to local EDs indicate that their preference is for the voters (except the disbled) to choose to use the OpScams.

A reporter, whom I also consulted, agreed with my guess, "Then the EDs are hoping for a small trainwreck in November rather than a giant train wreck?"

then this is actually not a bad option. If voters start requesting paper in large numbers, election officials may simply get tired of dual media.

we had the option of using electronic (which I declined, as well as the man in front of me) or paper ballot.
I did notice that the majority of younger voters used the paper ballot option, and while I was voting, the majority that were using the electronic (Diebold I think) were the elderly.

The guy and I that were voting paper ballot told the poll worker our concerns with electronic. What was most disconcerting was how clueless they seemed to be about the issues we raised.

be hacked or subverted.
the elderly are likely unaware of how easy that would be.

just my guess.

What type of audit will take place? State law, or local option?

If we have enough audits of elections, and an audit of the audits finds the machines making 'mistakes' then we begin hammering the final nail in the diebold coffins.

I know what I want this November, a land flowing with paper and audits.

I will trust this when I see it at the ballot place. At the primaries we were told we'd have the choice between optical scan and touchscreen, and when I got there I was told we could only vote on the touchscreen. There was one punch machine up there, but the poll worker told me I might as well get used to voting on the electronic rather than use the punchscreen because I wouldn't have a choice in November. Since It was just the primary I didn't try to argue, but I am not trusting we'll have a choice in November either.

Meg

I have some reservations about what I heard, myself. One of the quotes I heard was, "There will be at least one Optical Scan device at each polling station".

Since this solution seems to have been "imposed" on the EDS by the SoS (that is my take on it, anyway), there may be some very uncooperative people staffing the polling places.

Which county did you cast your primaty vote in?