[Geckomlis]

Originally posted by Makinus:
One thing i find strange in your (US) elections: if in Brazil we have an entirely eletronic voting system (where the citizen just punches in a special computer the number of his candidate), why the US, in several states, the vote is still in the old paper system?

We have almost imediate results in elections, with accuracy assured by computers, while using paper votes you have a long process to "count" all votes, normally done by humans, that, intentionally or no, can give inacurate results.

Technological Determinism Answer:
It is called technology “lock-in”. Why do some developing nations have newer, faster, more cost-efficient telecommunications systems than the USA? Because the USA has the most extensive and developed telecommunications system in the world and a correspondingly huge legacy infrastructure. The USA has the same problem with voting technology.

Socio-Political Answer:
Each administrative unit in the USA has local authority over voting. For example, I live in the state of Pennsylvania. I live in a small, incorporated borough (village, town) inside a township (traditionally 16 square miles) inside a county. 30+ townships in my county, 67 counties in Pennsylvania. We generally elect school district Boards here, but school district domains do not follow municipal boundaries, i.e. they can cross multiple counties or any number of smaller administrative units’ boundaries. Each of those voting units has some local degree of authority over voting.

When I lived in the state of Maryland, there were no townships and very few incorporated boroughs. Generally, the smallest administrative unit was the county and the counties ran the schools. Much more efficient, but very different than Pennsylvania. So all of the states in the USA vary in their voting practices as well.

Do not ask me about taxes…!

Getting everyone to agree to replace the voting technology they have already purchased previously and to coordinate that effort above the local level is politically impossible most of the time.