Public and Experts Split Over E-voting Security

I blogged on this topic a couple weeks ago. It seems now that the experts are far less trusting of electronic voting than the general public. That's a real surprise to me. I would have expected the techno crowd to be more in favor of it than anyone.

Nevertheless, after reading my proposal from the other day and weighing it against these "expert" opinions, I'm refining my idea.

Let's skip the whole electronic thing for a while. (Presumably, it really will work someday. Apparently, now is not the time.) Instead, let's just implement the second part of my plan. We can call it the Voting Accountability for Morons (VAM) plan or something.

The gist: All voters are responsible for auditing their own ballots before they leave the polls. (This is completely optional. You only do this if you are concerned your punch card won't be read properly -- or if you're a freaky activist of some sort.)

How it works: You scan your punch card in a reader identical to what they will use to count the votes. You receive a printout showing how your card was read (i.e., how you voted). You then have the opportunity to report any discrepancies and make corrections on the spot. Otherwise, what you turn in is what stays in the system. Period.

It's not perfect, but it's got to be better than just putting up a sign that says "Please remove all hanging chad." Does anyone really believe that the folks in Palm Beach County are going to remember what a hanging chad is four years later?