After Iowa Caucus Fiasco, Should Voting Be Done On Computers?

At around eight, I sat down to watch the results of the Iowa Caucus. I expected the whole thing to take about two, two and a half hours, leaving me plenty of time to write the Question Of The Day. It’s now almost two thirty in the morning. Karl Rove is saying Romney will pull out the victory by a few votes, but his anonymous sources have not spoken publicly. It’s a fitting way to end a dreadfully long and confusing night beset by numerous technical difficulties.

Within an hour of the caucuses ending, more than ten percent of the votes were already counted. The hard working officials at the aforementioned spots worked quickly and diligently, forwarding on the totals to GOP headquarters as soon as they got them. Unfortunately, other precincts were not nearly as efficient. Many took three or four hours to officially report, and rumors began spreading about why certain areas were still uncounted. A story about a truck driving from one county and failing to arrive made the rounds through the stations. That was later denied. Another county supposedly miscounted its votes. That was later confirmed.

So, what the hell happened? Well, the Iowa caucuses are done the old fashioned way. Voters show up, listen to speeches and then cast their selections on sheets of paper. After all the votes are in, the ballots are then stacked into piles and counted. The figures are phoned in, and the ballots are placed somewhere for safe keeping. Unfortunately, one of the precinct captains apparently walked off with his ballots, and a whole bunch of others took forever to report. The only reason there seems to be any clarity at this point is because the people at the precinct with the missing ballots all remembered the same vote count.

It’s 2012, and it seems like we should have a better system. Some observers have long propositioned for computerized change to the Iowa caucuses, but that new technology was not in play here. Thus, we’re still waiting for the official word well after midnight.

What do you think? Should all voting be done on computers? Let us know by voting in the poll below…

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