Heavyrunner,

I think it’s just because we’re lucky to be in California, and yeah..because of Debra Bowen and a few others as well.

We use only the paper ones here in my County, (MarkSense as you’ve described here) and a lot of folks vote absentee here as well. I suspect that proportionately, we probably have among the highest percentage of absentee voting, or ‘vote by mail’.

Some seem to have a concern about this, but I feel very comfortable with it.

Still, we DO have Debra Bowen to thank for that. Otherwise, we could have easily been stuck with all of the non-functioning vote changing machines that have been so easily tampered with.

I’ve never heard of voting machines being connected to phone lines, but I guess that’s because I’ve never used the ‘touch screen’ machines.

I’m curious about the Flash Memory cards. Are they contained in the depository where the ballot is actually deposited?

I have no idea of the technology being used now, since I’ve voted by mail for several years. So, I’m just curious about how the flash memory card works.

Even if I did not vote absentee, (I did have to vote in person for the Primary) we still just use the standard paper ballot here, tabulated as you say, the same way that exams are.

The only deal which should be struck in favor of giving immunity should be one in which we just open the jails and prison doors and let EVERY criminal out.  Fair is fair.  Many of our “criminals” have done FAR LESS to the detriment of our country or society than have the telecoms that participated in these illegalities.  ALL should have total IMMUNITY… no fines, no parole, no loss of voting rights, no NOTHING!  Complete and TOTAL IMMUNITY.  Why should some crooks go free while others pay a hefty price?  In fact, maybe we should disband our police and justice system.  It is obvious they are not needed.  We’ll just let CONGRESS AND OUR ROGUE ADMINISTRATION give everyone immunity.

I don’t suppose they need a bill from congress giving them permission to spy.  Is anyone under the illusion that they take congress seriously enough to ask permission to do anything they please.  Its a mere formality.  If they don’t get authorization they’ll do it anyway.  They know they have immunity from impeachment.

I don’t know if it is because of California state law or an order of the Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, but here in my county the voting results of each polling place are brought in by pairs of messengers who come to our polling place and pick up sealed bags containing the compact Flash memory cartridges and paper printouts from our voting machines and take them to the Courthouse for tabulation.

None of our machines is ever in any way connected to the Internet or phone lines.

I am sure of this because I am both a Voter Technician and a Polling Inspector, which means I set up and operate the touchscreen machines that we now only use for the visually handicapped, and I am also responsible for the chain of possession of our paper ballots which are of the MarkSense type, counted on machines similar to those that tabulate an examination like the SAT test.