Ohio, the center of much controversy in November's voting, has made an announcement that the State will implement paper-based optical scan systems for subsequent elections. Instead of the DRE (Direct Recording Electronic - good FAQ here) voting machines that had previously been mandated, there must now be systems in every precinct in the state with a paper trail! While there are numerous benefits to electronic voting systems, creating a voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) is impossible on nearly all electronic systems in the market. And with no paper audit trail, there is no possibility of a true recount.
This is good news for democracy. If Secretary of State Blackwell of Ohio realizes that every vote must be counted, there is hope that all fifty states will implement systems that provide this assurance to every voter.
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