Nancy wrote --

Once upon a time, before the Florida fiasco in 2000, we used punch cards.

We never had that here.... the old voting machines had little levers

We had those till the punch cards came out in the '80s. (The first
time I voted as a paper absentee ballot. I was living in CO but still a
WV resident).
After the punch cards we went to electronic voting. This system had a
card that was inserted into the machine and an official would insert a
large device that activated the machine. One used the touch screen and at
the end all the votes were shown and if any correction needed they were
made there. Then a button was pushed and the votes recorded and a light
came on. The official would then reset it for the next person.
Now they have machines with something like punch cards were the votes
are recorded (same general set up as above) and that card with markings
on it placed in the ballot box.
We haven't had booths since the day of the lever. Now they are free
standing machines here and there with side panels so one can't see who
one voted for. This last time one now sits to vote rather than standing
and the screen is tilted so one can't stand and see the screen. Or very
well anyway.

Now, with the computerized ones, we have to mark the paper ballots with

a felt-tip pen, filling in circles...

Sounds almost like the old paper ballots.
Joe
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Quoting Joe Mackey to Nancy Backus on 04-01-19 07:53 <=-

Once upon a time, before the Florida fiasco in 2000, we used punch cards.

We never had that here.... the old voting machines had little levers

We had those till the punch cards came out in the '80s. (The first
time I voted as a paper absentee ballot. I was living in CO but still
a WV resident).

Great timing there... ;0

After the punch cards we went to electronic voting. This system had
a card that was inserted into the machine and an official would insert
a large device that activated the machine. One used the touch screen
and at the end all the votes were shown and if any correction needed
they were made there. Then a button was pushed and the votes recorded
and a light came on. The official would then reset it for the next person. Now they have machines with something like punch cards where
the votes are recorded (same general set up as above) and that card
with markings on it placed in the ballot box.

Lots of changes along the way... :)

We haven't had booths since the day of the lever. Now they are free standing machines here and there with side panels so one can't see who
one voted for. This last time one now sits to vote rather than
standing and the screen is tilted so one can't stand and see the
screen. Or very well anyway.

I think at one point our state tested a similar machine... used it
particularly with the disabled... I don't think that we still use it
though... :)

Now, with the computerized ones, we have to mark the paper ballots with
a felt-tip pen, filling in circles...

Sounds almost like the old paper ballots.

It did remind me of that... Voters sit at tables (with privacy
sectioning) or stand at higher tables (likewise with the privacy
barriers)... and then once the ballots are filled out, we go over to a
machine to submit it... the machine checks it, and if all is in order,
swallows it up.... there's a privacy "envelope" (actually a folder) that
one puts the ballot into when going over to the machine....

ttyl neb

... Flying saucer: what follows a flying coffee cup during an argument.

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CP wrote --

Those who pay the piper call the tune, as the old saying goes.

Well, we taxpayers do the paying.

Too often bureaucrats think they are owed the money to with was they
please.

Anymore that isn't taught. Its all too much group think.

True; today's teachers have graduated the new ultra-Lie-beral college grouptrthink 'thinking' & no longer think for themselves nor allow such in theirclassroomsd

I often like to ask a young person (nowadays that's most anyone under 60 rather then teenagers) "why do you think/say that" when they say something I may disagree with.
I'm not saying they are wrong, when often they are, but how they came to
that conclusion.
I seldom get a good defence of their reasoning.
One thing that grates on me is the use of the word "feel" for think. The
two are not the same.
So many seem to think something is real/not real because they _feel_ it is/isn't.

I'm stil mad, 45 years later that I got marked wrong in Pphonics for spelling wordsacorrecly,

I was an average speller. There are some words that still through me
for a loop.
I was always taught "look it up in the dictionary" which helped a lot.
Today that would probably be considered child abuse....
I always double check my spelling and writing before I'm done with it,
on a pc. (On paper I'm ok). Its amazing the times I've mispelt a word, or what I wrote made little sense. (Quiet Daryl).

Did you know you can reuse old phone books as personal address books by simply blacking out the names of the people you don't know

Sounds like a blonde joke. :)
I doubt many kids today know what a phone book is much less how to use
one. :)
Joe
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