Just got back from errands and voting; I live in John Boehner's district in Ohio.
I was surprised to see so many cars there at just before six o'clock. The sole "activist" (in favor of a local county levy to increase mental-health funding) out front told me it had been busy all day.
It turns out one of the reasons was the new voting machines. Yep, I finally got to vote electronically. My personal preference is for paper ballots, but this system seemed to work well.
First I had to provide identification, something new for Ohio. The nice ladies at the polling station told me the requirement wasn't restricted "official" IDs such as state of Ohio ID, or even a photo ID such as a driver's license.. All that is required is a valid document with your correct name and address on it. One woman brought in her checkbook, and the the nice ladies told me a phone bill and/or electric bill were equally acceptable.
This impresses me as a healthy compromise which helps eliminate vote fraud while not placing an undue burden on citizens.
Since this was the first time using electronic voting machines, folks (understandably) took a bit longer to make sure they got everything right. I know I made a point of double-checking everything.
Another time-sponge was the fact that the "ballot" was 14 pages long. Yep. 14 pages. There were some Ohio constitutional amendments (proposed raise of the minimum wage), as well as local and county amendments which took up most of that space. Whoops, almost forgot to mention the idiotic proposed state amendment to further ban smoking in "public" areas. Feh. I read through that one twice, to make sure I voted correctly (I'm agin it. {g}).
The process went as follows: I gave them proof I was really me, signed the register (which included a scan of my signature from the last election), and waited in line.
When my turn came, I got some sort of smartcard to activate the machine. I inserted the card as instructed, and was puzzled by the lack of activity on the screen. Just before I decided to ask for help, I saw small notice next to the card receptacle which instructed me to push the card in until it "clicked." Ah, that was it! Can't say if that was bad ergonomics, or me just staring at the screen and nothing else. Heh.
The screen itself was (didn't think to measure it at the time) roughly 18" high and about 12" wide. Easy to read; nice and big. To my mind the instructions were pretty clear. Touch the box next the person you wish to vote for, or the box yes/no, depending on your choice for a referendum. The instructions pointed out there was a help button at the bottom of the screen, as well as "forward" and "back" buttons (with arrows). There were also options to change the contrast and type size to aid visually-challenged voters.
Voting itself was straightforward, and closely followed the earlier punch ballots I've used in previous Ohio elections. Just touch the box next to the name of the man or woman for whom you are voting. A feature I liked was that the Republican and Democratic candidates were clearly labled as such; I don't know if that's common across the country, but it helps avoid confusion similiar to that apparently suffered by some voters in Florida back in 2000. Just look for the Democrat or the Republican, and press the appropriate box. Simple.
As I said, there were very large and easy-to-read "forward" and "back" buttons at the bottom of the screen. I was immediately reminded of a web browser. In fact, I used them several times, as I find "legal" language rather obscure, so I prefer to go over proposed amendments very carefully to ensure I understand just what a "yes" or "no" vote does.
Overall, the ability to navigate the ballot seemed -to me- more than adequate, and the options to validate your vote worked well. Once I finished my ballot, my selections were presented in pages (or screens, if you prefer); three if I recall. The instructions told me to carefully review each page, and go back (via the "back" button) if I had made any mistakes. Once I was satisfied with that page, I pressed a "commit" button (don't recall the actual word), and a hard copy of that page was printed on a log which resembled a grocery-store receipt, except that I couldn't access it. I could, however, read it quite nicely through a window. For example, my vote for governer showed Ken Blackwell [X], and so on.
Once I approved that page of choices, I went to the next; again I saw a summary on the screen of my votes, pressed "commit," then saw the hardcopy log of my vote, which allowed me to double-check the result.
After I went through three pages (or screens) to review I was presented with a screen saying, basically, "Ok, once you press this button your vote will be logged. If you want to make ANY changes, do so now!" So I pressed the final button, and Bob's your uncle.
One suggestion I would offer is ejecting the smartcard from the holder once the voter has pressed the final "I'm done" button, as additional feedback that voting has been completed. It would provide a useful ergonomic signal.
After that I removed the smartcard and returned it to the registrars, then bothered the nice ladies with more questions. When I asked what would happen if I had pressed "commit," then realized I had been an idiot and mucked up my ballot, they told me a voter had three chances to "re-do" their ballot, if I understood them correctly. I'm not sure if that meant I had three chances at that final "commit," or three chances to go back and fix things at the final review stage. Since (as I mentioned above) they were still busy at the time I didn't want to waste any more of their time.
All in all I found the system to provide more than adequate options to both review and correct my choices, especially the viewable hard copy as a paper-trail backup. Then again -full disclosure- I'm a college grad and a techno-geek. On the gripping hand my own preference is for paper ballots with X's as advocated by the Instapundit. I believe that's the most effective route if your highest priority is eliminating voter fraud and confusion. I don't think the extra day it would take counting the ballots; isn't that a trivial price to pay?
A closing note: when I queried the nice ladies at the polls, they said our precinct was busier than in 2004. Hmm...