Reply #79: that is what is called "optical scan" [View All]

It variously uses bubble, boxes, or broken arrows that the voter connects. It is widely used, and many election integrity activists support it.

Critics point out that the optical scanners are hackable, which is true. They can also be misconfigured, or just fail. In my opinion, which is pretty common, those problems are manageable as long as the ballots are secured and systematically audited.

Another twist is how people with various disabilities should vote. Some folks advocate technology that would help people with various disabilities to mark their ballots themselves; some folks advocate that everyone use touchscreen equipment (ballot marking devices) that would produce optically scannable ballots; and some folks advocate Direct Recording Electronic equipment, perhaps with an audio audit trail. It gets pretty arcane.