To the editor,
I'm distressed to hear city hall will introduce electronic voting next municipal election ("Reality bites," Jan. 17). There is no more secure way to count a vote than the way we do it now. I have worked on three elections---two as a deputy returning officer and one as a poll clerk. When polls close, the ballot box is taken to a locked room with the DRO, the poll clerk and representatives of the candidates. The DRO empties the box, unfolds the ballots and one by one, shows them to all present. Everyone notes which circle has an "X" in it and when the ballots are counted, everyone knows who won. The DRO then calls in the results to the chief returning officer.
Only a pencil should come between a voters and ballots. A machine can malfunction, and be manipulated.
By Dusty Keeler