I found this on the Federal Election Commission's Web site explaining
how mechanical voting machines work. These are the type we use here in
NYC, although I understand they will be phased out. The potential
(which the historical record supports) for fraud and chicanery is
limitless.
john
http://www.fec.gov/pages/lever.htm:
Mechanical Lever Machines
On mechanical lever voting machines, the name of each candidate or
ballot issue choice is assigned a particular lever in a rectangular
array of levers on the front of the machine. A set of printed strips
visible to the voters identifies the lever assignment for each
candidate and issue choice. The levers are horizontal in their unvoted
positions.
The voter enables the machine with a lever that also closes a privacy
curtain. The voter pulls down selected levers to indicate choices. When
the voter exits the booth by opening the privacy curtain with the
handle, the voted levers are automatically returned to their original
horizontal position. As each lever returns, it causes a connected
counter wheel within the machine to turn one-tenth of a full rotation.
The counter wheel, serving as the "ones" position of the numerical
count for the associated lever, drives a "tens" counter one-tenth of a
rotation for each of its full rotations. The "tens" counter similarly
drives a "hundreds" counter. If all mechanical connections are fully
operational during the voting period, and the counters are initially
set to zero, the position of each counter at the close of the polls
indicates the number of votes cast on the lever that drives it.
Interlocks in the machine prevent the voter from voting for more
choices than permitted.
The first official use of a lever type voting machine, known then as
the "Myers Automatic Booth," occurred in Lockport, New York in 1892.
Four years later they were employed on a large scale in the city of
Rochester, New York, and soon were adopted statewide. By 1930, lever
machines had been installed in virtually every major city in the United
States, and by the 1960�s well over half of the Nation�s votes were
being cast on these machines.
Mechanical lever machines were used by 20.7% of registered voters in
the United States as of the 1996 Presidential election. Because these
machines are no longer made, the trend is to replace them with computer
based marksense or direct recording electronic systems."
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