"Thank God for paper ballots"

Washington is not the only governor's race that is still undecided. The NYT reports on the situation in Puerto Rico, where one candidate won by 3 880 votes, and a slow recount will be needed, that may extend into next year. There are the usual allegations of fraud, and at the very end of the article is a comment by the challenger that at least the ballots are all on good old fashioned paper, easily verified and relatively difficult to tamper with without being detected.

Mr. Acevedo Vilá said he was wary of electronic voting and that the current system engendered trust. "It is foolproof against fraud because you have the evidence right there," he said. "Thank God for paper ballots."

Note that Anibal Acevedo Vilá is the guy who lost the original count, and thanks to the paper ballots the recount that might reverse the result and put him in office might not be finished before his opponent is sworn in. Nevertheless, he sees the great advantage of this voting technology, and wouldn't want to change it.

As a certain pundit would say, Indeed.