"Beware: Scandal may taint paper-ballot systems"
Votegate 2004 is set up as a win-win for the current victor.
First, he "wins" the election.
Second, overzealous protesters compare exit polls andblame overvotes on the winner's favorite voting method: touch screen voting.
Third, cooler heads begin to report that touch screen actually looks pretty clean, and evidence suggests no major tampering. Critics lose a little credibility, have harder time proving fraud or getting listened to.
Fourth, shocking evidence of fraud emerges from voting methods with a paper trail: optically scanned ballots in Florida Ohio? Because these are the voting systems endorsed by critics, they lose more credibility, and job of persuading public gets tougher.
Fifth, nobody can prove Bush or Karl Rove did it, and Bush pushes for election reform because of abuses "on both sides."
Sixth, Congress passes more election reforms, banning vote machines with paper ballots and receipts after news reports question the integrity of the vote they produced, but no one is ever prosecuted or conclusively fingered as the perpetrator.
Seventh, we're stuck with the worst-possible voting system.
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