First, Fronk, it doesn't matter who asked for the machines. They are the antithesis of fair and accurate vote counts, and actually ILLEGAL by some states' constitutions, because they don't permit a manual recount (or any kind of recount, for that matter).

Second, I don't recall the Dems ever requesting electronic machines with no paper trail.   FAVA -- the fair voting act -- was passed in order to avoid people's votes being lost or thrown out by outdated machines (e.g., punch card machines that didn't always punch all the way through). Its intent was to allow quick, but, more importantly, fully accurate vote counts. Problem is, it was a badly designed bill, and Congress failed to FUND it.

As I understand it, many of the electronic machines were initially designed without paper trails -- probably to save a few pennies. Once those machines were manufactured, RETROFITTING them was much more costly than it would have been to include the papertrail in the first place.   States balked at the additional expense. (Kinda shows where "our" priorities lie, doesn't it?)