TechNorthfield

(This is the first entry for TechNorthfield, a semi-weekly blog examing the intersection of Today's technology and Northfield's residents)

The presidential elections of 2000 presented us with a whole new lexicon for "voting controversy". Can a debacle like this happen in Northfield?

Thankfully, the answer to that is "No."

Much of the trouble caused in Florida came from the type of system used to record votes - a "punched card" machine. Minnesota phased out all their punch machines over fifteen years ago; nowadays we use an 'optical scan' machine. The benefits of these are many:

1. It's simple to understand. Everyone is familiar with the 'pen and paper' interface.
2. There's a 'paper trail'. If there is a need for a recount, the original ballots can quickly and easily be manually recounted.
3. Pens don't 'crash'.

You would think that places like Florida have fixed their problems over the intervening four years. Unfortunately, their solutions may have as many, if not more problems. While this doesn't directly impact us, another botched election hurts us in the larger sense. Let's hope for the best.

We are being served well by Minnesota's voting infrastructure. Vote with confidence, Northfield!