the whole paper trail thing is a canard, a misdirection away from the real problem. unless the machine has a secondary, mechanical system in place independent of the digital system that contacts the paper slips through a system of gears and pulleys from voter's hand to stamp, like an old fashioned hand-cranked adding machine (and to my knowledge no one is proposing this), the paper slips will be as easily hackable as the electronic "slips." the problem isn't a lack of paper, the problem is the fact that hackers can crack the system without leaving a trail. once those electrons have been massaged to write phony paper slips it just gets worse, since the auditors are then convinced the counts are valid.
any democracy that puts it's faith in pure electronic voting might just as well officially cease being a democracy, because that’s what will probably happen sooner or later anyway.
- js.
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