In my state we've been using mechanical voting machines for decades but some buttwipes in state gov wanted to switch to electronic. They claim it is cheaper. I think it is stoopid. But apparently my opinion is in the minority.

Of all the voter fraud possibilities I think the greatest one is from who gets to vote. I think there should be strict voter registration. Other people think that too, is subject to abuse, which it is. So which error is worse, letting people vote who should not or preventing people from voting who should? I think it depends mostly on where the greater source of fraud is. At this time and in my state the greater source of fraud (IMO) is from dead voters and unregistered voters and dual registered voters.

Concerning exit polling, I would agree in a strict statistical sense, that exit polls should match actual polls. However, I've fooled with statistical sampling and design enough to know that it is not too difficult to get spurious results. Usually bad results are due to mistakes (technically, there's a difference between mistakes and errors. There are two types of errors, both of which are due to technicalities of methodology. Mistakes are also known as blunders, and those are due to human failings)

Human beings are a silly bunch. They can drive to the poll with one opinion and get inside the booth and have a change of heart. They can know they are voting against what their neighbors think. They can make mistakes when talking to pollsters. I have a colleague who intentionally answers political polls in a manner different from what she believes. She doesn't like it that many people are swayed in their opinions by what polls say, so her bit of rage against the machine is to lie to pollsters.

I agree with her sentiment concerning people being swayed by polls. Polls should be descriptive, not prescriptive.

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