Reply #45: Here's an additional thought.... [View All]

One possibly very big crossover group pair might be veterans' associations (who seem to be more or less in favor of paper ballots) and disabled vets' groups. Both get a lot of exposure for their views. I would guess the DAV has as much government access as AAPD might.

And one more. One of the principal issues in this, for both sides, is that the voter needs to feel that his or her vote counts, and is countable. We've been saying, all along, that using a paper ballot for recounts which has been verified by the voter is a right.

Now, if that is an intrinsic right in a democracy (which depends upon the popular vote for its existence), then it is a right for all. The AAPD's stance denies that intrinsic right not just to non-disabled voters, but to disabled voters, as well. If the technology exists to enable paper ballot verification for the disabled (and it does), then to argue against it is to deny an intrinsic right to all.

I think that's a wedge argument, and it's probably got some fairly sound foundation in the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Cheers.