Why don't all voting places use the same types of ballots?

Question

I really like our ballots in San Francisco, but I've also voted in San Diego (using the chad system). With all the controversy around counting votes and making them understandable, why hasn't there been one single voting system selected as "the best" and adopted by every county/state?

Answer 1

Because the selection of voting devices is the province of state governments under the U S Constitution.

And because the three leading voting machine manufacturers have hired lobbyists in all states to promote, successfully I might add, enactment of statutes which establish standards for voting devices, the effect of which is to create a market which mandates that counties may purchase devices from only those few manufacturers.

Then manufacturer salesforces hire local lobbyists in the states and counties to influence the purchase of particular brands of devices. Each manufacturer gets a piece of the market.

Answer 2

I think there was one voting system years ago.... paper ballots.

I've sent for an absentee ballot and kept a copy of the form I mailed. I'll do the same with the ballot. If the number on the form is any guide, there have been over 500 requests here for those forms. I wish everyone would do that.

Answer 3

We need to use paper trail ballots for the upcoming election until we can figure out how to make the Diebold machines safer.

Answer 4

Go and vote in San Diego, if you like it more over there!!

Answer 5

This is a FREE country, you know. People have FREEDOM in this country. Maybe you should give some thought to that!, before jumping to conclusions and demanding that everything be identical to everything else.