After all the electronic voting nonsense, some registrars may be getting it right SacBee [reg. req'd]):

Registrars want total vote-by-mail election
By Kevin Yamamura -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 15, 2006
Story appeared on Page A1 of The Bee

Cutting-edge electronic voting was supposed to solve ballot-box flaws in the wake of the 2000 presidential election. But now some California registrars believe that good old-fashioned snail mail is the best way to go.

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The registrars point to a successful mail-ballot system in Oregon and the fact that most counties in Washington state now do the same.

California is heading in that direction, considering that nearly two in five voters statewide used absentee ballots for the 2005 special election. The state has seen a surge in mail ballots since a permanent absentee voter program took effect four years ago.

No machine, no problem.

Nearly invisible, definitely below the radar until this morning, the process of simply managing data is beyond the Feds capability:

Aging computers hobble Homeland Security

Aging, incompatible systems and outdated processes have contributed to a backlog of approximately 1 million people waiting for a decision from the department's Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau. Computer problems at its Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau caused a snafu in which student visa holders were jailed overnight or barred from entering the United States.

Source:  CNET.news, 15 Dec.

If you need to interact with Homeland Security, bring a #2 pencil and paper.