1. Use of touch-screen machines peaked in 2006, according to data from the Pew Research Center and Verified Voting. Most voters now use what are called optical-scan systems—voting by paper ballots that are then scanned and counted by computerized scanners. Other electronic voting machines also have paper backups in response to concerns about integrity.
a) What are direct-recording electronic [DRE] machines? (the type used in Georgia)
b) How many states use these types of machines?

2. How did U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg rule in the challenge to Georgia’s use of electronic voting machines this week?

3. How did Judge Totenberg explain her ruling?

4. What did Judge Totenberg acknowledge about the electronic voting machines? Be specific.

5. a) Who were the plaintiffs in the case?
b) What argument did the plaintiffs make?
c) What had they asked the court to do while the case was pending?

6. How important do you think it is for every state, county and municipality to use voting machines that have a paper record? Explain your answer.

7. Do you think the judge made the right decision - that switching to paper ballots now for the November midterms would “result in voter frustration and disaffection from the voting process”? Explain your answer.

Per wikipedia: In 2008 before she became a federal judge, Totenberg contributed $1750 to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In 2010 she was appointed to the court by President Obama. Her sister is Nina Totenberg, the American legal affairs correspondent for NPR.