Voting in Seattle Without Machines; Get Rid of Diebold's "Modern" Machines! 
It was a delight casting my initial vote in Seattle for one basic reason; they did it the tried and true old-fashioned way and as a result there will be no problem with paper trails and the like or vanishing would-be votes.
My voting precinct was sandwiched between Key Arena, where I watch our local Sonics play pro basketball, and the Seattle Repertory Company, which has become widely renowned for featuring the plays of Seattle's great dramatist, the recently deceased August Wilson.
Having had some bitter experiences with the new touch screen voting process while living in Fort Lauderdale, an innovation that seems to serve no legitimate purpose and is completely unnecessary, it was a delight to walk over to a courteous poll worker, who provided me with a welcome piece of information.
I smiled and gave him along with his colleague sitting next to him a triumphal thumb up gesture, which prompted smiles from them.
"There are some things that are done better the old-fashioned way, and this is definitely one of them," I said, not elaborating on my deeply rooted beliefs on this issue.
My one experience with touch screen voting in Florida had me scurrying back to the lady who had handed me my ballot, who then came over and provided assistance. She was needed to scurry around the room and do the same for others even though there were not even that many people in the room.
My Seattle experience was totally different. I was able to sit at a table and in leisurely fashion fill in my ballot, taking as much time as I needed. A pen was provided and I filled in all the spaces of the candidates and measures on which I voted.
Why do we need touch screen voting? If you are Diebold you can make plenty of money from the process. Then there was that controversial letter the then CEO Walden Dell wrote saying he would do all he could to help George W. Bush secure reelection.
It looked as if the Diebold machines helped a great deal since there was all kinds of turmoil pertaining to the voting machines in minority and blue-collar districts where Democrats traditionally prospered.
Without a paper trail all hell is likely to break loose. It felt good to know that when my ballot was dropped into the box after I concluded my civic duty that I had filled it out on my own, there would be no hanging chads, and a paper trail existed.
Get the point? Why supply Republicans with a potential license to steal, as occurred in states such as Ohio and Florida? Why risk the absences of a paper trail and unaccounted for votes by voting machine disqualification?
This is one area where the old way works best. Take the time in a relaxed atmosphere, as I did today, and blacken the circles that represent your choices. This is our best assurance that democracy will be served.
KEYWORDS: Voting Machines, Florida Tragedy, Diebold, Walden Dell, Touch Screen Voting
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