Jan 29 2008 | By David Singleton, Staff Writer
An influential voice is speaking out in favor of paper ballots for the April 22 primary election.
The League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County is recommending the county commissioners reject a return to electronic touch-screen voting machines and go instead with an optical-scan system that uses paper ballots, similar to the one used in November’s general election.
Although it acknowledged the public may regard paper ballots as a step backward, the league cited the proven technology of optical-scan voting and its ability to produce a verifiable paper trail. So-called automarking devices would allow the disabled to vote without assistance, they said.
“Are we worried about the coolness factor, or are we worried about an accurate election?” Dan Schreffler, the league’s secretary-treasurer, asked Monday. “We should be worried about an accurate election.”
