How science speeds the counting of 40 million votes

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Tim O'Reilly" <[email protected]>
Date: October 29, 2006 9:01:47 AM EST
To: Dave Farber <[email protected]>
Subject: How science speeds the counting of 40 million votes

The Make: blog turned up this 1940 article from Popular Science about  
"modern" vote counting.  Thought people might get a kick out of it in  
the context of the present voting machine discussions.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: [email protected]
> Date: October 28, 2006 1:55:22 PM PDT
> To: "Tim O'Reilly" <[email protected]>
> Subject: MAKE Magazine - How science speeds the counting of 40  
> million votes
>
> How science speeds the counting of 40 million votes
> http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/10/how_science_spe.html
>
> It's voting season! Here's a look at how votes were counted from  
> Popular Science 1940 -
>
> "HUMMING over wires from every corner of the nation, election  
> returns in a few days will bring the answer to the question of  
> America's 40,000,000 voters: Who's elected ?
>
> Years ago, many days would pass before positive results of a  
> Presidential election were known. Today it is a matter of hours and  
> minutes. To make this possible, a scientific network of  
> communication machines--teletypes, telephones, telegraph, and  
> radio--manned by an army of workers, has been recruited and  
> promises the earliest election returns in history. But nothing will  
> aid the vote gatherers more than the voting machines that this year  
> number 35,000 in twenty-two states.
>
> First used around the turn of the century, the voting machine, by  
> reason of its speed, accuracy, and honesty, has come up in  
> popularity until this year it will tabulate nearly a third of the  
> votes cast.
>
> So you may see how modern high-speed machines count the votes,  
> Popular Science selected a typical Mr. and Mrs. America and, in the  
> series of pictures that follows, starts you around the clock with  
> them on Election Day and shows you how they may well know on the  
> same night "who's elected!" " - Link.

The full article is at http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/10/23/how- 
science-speeds-the-counting-of-40000000-votes/
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