Local taxpayers then pay for machines that often are put away for years at a stretch between workouts. Some states, such as Florida, use one type of ballot in some areas and another type elsewhere. Under a technology first used in the 1890 census, millions of votes cast by Floridians in the three infamously disputed counties were counted by punch card readers that record holes in stiff paper ballots. But the Constitution permits the next Congress to pass a law setting uniform standards for ballots cast in congressional elections, and by extension, to presidential ones as well. Such a statute could also take advantage of computerized systems now sitting on the shelf in one of the world's most technologically advanced nations.
States can still make it easy for voters to get absentee ballots.
And one state, Oregon, has gone to an extended mail-only scheme. Were Congress to call for the uniform adoption of electronic systems that record votes directly, much like the automated teller machines that use touch screens to record cash withdrawals, a future crisis could be curbed. It's probably unwise to link these electronic voting systems to the Internet. To be sure, in order to use the Las Vegas machines, you have to be literate. Andrew J. Glass is a Washington-based columnist for Cox Newspapers.