If (or probably when) we go electronic touchscreen, I will probably vote absentee (paper scan in this county south of San Francisco).
I do not trust a pure electronic system--there is too much room for fraud and error.
Those systems planned for our area can print a simple receipt summary for the voter--and, after the election they can print paper ballots for "inspection". However, as far as I know, I will not be able to see a final hardcopy and place that in the box/machine to be scanned.
Remember all of the ATM errors when they first came out? Pumping out cash without debiting the accounts, lost ATM cards, and the problem with people being robbed while using ATMs (or with stolen cards/passwords)?
The big problem with voting absentee is that if the elections aren't close (like the last presidential), there were something like a 1,000,000+ ballots just in California that went uncounted.
And remember the types of errors that are usually being addressed as a reason to go to an "active" or computer based ballot which ask/force only the correct choices (if correctly programmed--there where some reports of bad programming in the recall election):
No Vote for a ballot (undervote)
More votes than allowed for a ballot (overvote)
Marking Errors / Scanning Errors (recount can catch these)
Physical Ballot Problems (Hanging Chad, etc.)
They cannot look at the results of any ballot and say that someone intended to vote for Gore but voted for Bush (they where trying to do this in Florida, if all democrat slate, then probably ment to vote for Gore).
I can't verify--but I remember that this book was the subject of much discussion a few years ago
VoteScam. Pretty depressing--if true.
What I would like to see is the equivalent of how I bank. Either a place or Internet, voting begins weeks in advance, I enter and review my vote--change-able until the polls close. And positive ID (same as required to get a Job in the US--Birth Certificate, SSN, Passport (if not BC), picture ID). All cross referenced against current databases (private and/or government).
I do have a concern about how to assure vote privacy (paid for voting, mass voting, other fraud). Probably would like a voting place with thumb print (like in Department of Motor Vehicles) and only one person allowed (plus on helper--if required).
-Bill