Election-Campaign Law

I Love the Automark ? And Long Lines

By Thad Hall

Mike and I watched early voting in New Mexico and we watched two voters vote on the Automark.  It was quite interesting to watch for a couple of reasons.  First, it was so easy to use.  The woman–who had a motor disability–voted without need for assistance on the equipment.  She quickly picked up on how it worked just touched away on it.  Second, it was fast.  She and her partner voted in less time than it took voters using paper ballots marked with pens.

I would also note that the ballot in Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) seemed REALLY REALLY LONG and complicated.  We timed several voters and it was taking voters between 5 and 19 minutes to vote.  In Utah we also have a relatively long ballot as well — we have statewide elections this year as well as referenda and judicial retentions.   The lines we see on election day may be partially indicative of the fact that we vote on a lot of stuff in the United States!

Full post as published by Election Updates on November 01, 2008 (boomark / email).