Virginia election moves us closer to a paper trail

Armstrong plans for '07 session
Monday, November 20, 2006

Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Collinsville, plans to introduce legislation in the upcoming General Assembly session that would require every voting machine in the state to produce a paper copy of each vote cast, he said Sunday.

The paper record would serve as a backup in the event that computerized, touch-screen voting machines were to malfunction in some way, he said.

Armstrong said recent close elections in the state, including this month’s Senate contest between incumbent Sen. George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb, prompted the idea.

Webb won by a margin of about 9,000 votes.

“I just feel like there ought to be a piece of paper” that would allow officials to track votes, Armstrong said. He said he might even like to see something “almost like a receipt printed out for (the voter) to take.”

Nice. I agree; I have always wanted a receipt on election day, however, I understand the arguments against it. The most popular argument against the use of a receipt is the idea that it will be much easier to buy votes if people have a way to prove how they voted. So, the thought is out there in the open, but a solution is still far out of our grasp.

The rest of the article is a bit funny; apparently, Armstrong also wants to put the problem of obesity front and center, and I for one say, "hear, hear, good sir! Stop talking about cigarettes and start talking about fat content!" He also admits that he enjoys going to church and talking politics, which makes me very uncomfortable. The entire article can be found here.