"Kevin Shelley is a big and voluble Irish politician, the son of a former San Francisco mayor, and not the sort you would figure for the heretofore semi-obscure job of California secretary of state. But Mr. Shelley, who was elected to the post in November 2002 after a career as a state legislator, has adapted the job to suit his style, taking the arcane matter of voting machines and turning it into a hobbyhorse that some predict he could ride to the governor's office.
Mr. Shelley, a Democrat, has gained national notice for his skepticism toward touch-screen voting and his insistence that voters be able to look at a paper record inside the voting booth to verify their ballots.
He says such paper trails are crucial if government wants voters to have confidence that their ballots are being counted correctly.
As a result, he has ordered that after July 1, 2005, no county in California can buy a touch-screen system without a paper record that is verifiable by the voter, and as of July 2006, all touch-screen systems here must be equipped with paper trails, regardless of when they were bought. Until the machines have that capability, he wants people who do not trust them to have the option of voting by a traditional paper ballot."
There's a lot more to it -- see above link.
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