In Ireland, we had a debate earlier this year on e-voting. The government tried to impose e-voting on the entire country but hadn’t properly thought their strategy through.

When the perils of a paperless system were pointed out, the government had to make an embarassing climb down and the election went ahead in the traditional manner.

Possibly in order to prevent a similar incident in California, Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed into law a bill which requires a voter-verified paper record in all counties statewide by the 2006 primary.

Voters will not be able to touch or keep the records, but county registrars will keep them in lock boxes in case of recounts or audits.