I'm reposting this because of heightened interest in voting machines today, thanks to machines breaking down and acting funny. It's a comprehensive list of swing states and counties that use paperless voting machines. If things are looking fishy tonight, here's a handy guide.
Pennsylvania
This is probably the biggest state to watch for voter fraud. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley, Scranton and Harrisburg all lean Democratic, and virtually all of them use exclusively paperless voting machines.
Philadelphia itself uses the Shouptronic 1242 by Danaher Controls, as do nearby Delaware, Bucks and Berks Counties. Nearby Montgomery County uses the AVC Advantage by Sequoia Voting Systems, and Chester County uses the iVotronic by Election Systems & Software. All of these are paperless voting machines.
Allegheny County (containing Pittsburgh) uses the iVotronic by Election Systems & Software, as do nearby Westmoreland, Lawrence, Beaver, and Butler Counties. Washington and Armstrong Counties use the AccuVote-TSX by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold). Again, all of these are paperless voting machines.
The Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania's third-most populous area, is comprised of three counties. Lehigh County uses the AccuVote-TSX by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold), as does Carbon County. Northampton County uses the Advantage by Sequoia Voting Systems. Again, all of these are paperless voting machines.
Scranton-Wilkes Barre, the fourth-most populous area, is a mixed bag. Lackawanna County (containing Scranton) uses an optical scan, while Luzerne County (containing Wilkes-Barre) uses the paperless iVotronic by Election Systems & Software.
Finally, Dauphin County, home of Harrisburg, uses the Shouptronic 1242 by Danaher Controls. Again, a paperless voting machine.
Pretty much all of these areas were blue or deep purple in 2004, and should be inclined to do the same this year. Keep an eye on all of these counties, and Pennsylvania as a whole, to see if the returns vary strongly from exit polls.
And it just gets worse for Pennsylvania. Not only are paperless voting machines in wide use, but they don't even require a manual audit of the machines before use.
Virginia
"Fake" Virginia, our best hope of capturing the state, is another troublesome spot. With very few exceptions, they use paperless voting machines as well. They're also a bit of a pain in the butt to analyze, because like my home of St. Louis, many of their cities are "independent cities" that technically exist outside of any county. Geographically, many of these cities are so small that the map that I'm using to check for "blueness" of various areas doesn't show their color.
But I'll try.
The cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and Chesapeake all use the AccuVote-TSX by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold).
Suffolk uses the AVC Advantage by Sequoia Voting Systems.
Fairfax County, FairFax City, Richmond and Arlington use WinVote by Advanced Voting Solutions.
Alexandria uses the eSlate by Hart InterCivic.
All of these machines are, again, paperless.
Again, keep an eye on all of these counties and cities, and Virginia as a whole, to see if the returns vary strongly from exit polls.
Furthermore, there's no audit requirement for their machines.
Florida
Another dangerous state that uses mainly paperless voting machines.
Palm Beach County uses the AVC Edge I by Sequoia Voting Systems; Broward and Miami-Dade Counties use the iVotronic by Election Systems & Software, as does Gadsden County (the most predominantly African-American county in the state); Monroe County uses the AccuVote-TSX by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold), as does Manatee County, Leon County (home of Tallahassee, Florida A&M University and Florida State University) and Alachua County (home of Gainesville and the University of Florida).
The bright spots here are Duval County, home of Jacksonville; Hillsborough County, home of Tampa; Pinellas County, home of St. Petersburg; and Sarasota County. These areas are purple, populous and use paper ballots.
So, if shenanigans are afoot, it might be good to compare and contrast the exit polls vs. the result of the paper-ballot counties and the paperless counties.
There's also a glimmer of hope among the areas that use paperless machines. The machines in Florida require a manual audit before use.
Georgia
The chance of an Obama pickup is slim, but the chances of Jim Martin kicking out Saxby Chambliss are better. Not great, but better.
Georgia exclusively uses the AccuVote-TS R6 by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold). If exit polls show a victory for Martin or (I'm not holding my breath) Obama, be wary here.
Furthermore, there's no audit requirement for their machines.
Mississippi
Barring McCain being found in bed with a dead girl or a live boy, Mississippi isn't going for Obama. But there is a chance for Musgrove to unseat Wicker.
The good news is, the most heavily Democratic areas of the state use voting machines with paper trails. Hinds County, which was slightly purpler than the rest of the state, uses the paperless WinVote by Advanced Voting Solutions.
Rankin County uses the iVotronic by Election Systems & Software, and Jackson County uses the AccuVote-TSX by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold). These two counties have a red trend, but are somewhat populous, so look out for any serious divergence here.
Furthermore, there's no audit requirement for their machines.
Colorado
Colorado is a real oddball here. Almost the entire state uses paper ballots and/or machines with paper trails. The one exception is Jefferson County, which uses the paperless iVotronic by Election Systems & Software. It's populous (accounts for 10% of the population of Colorado) and purple. It's a good county to compare and contrast with other counties in Colorado.
But there is some good news here. There's an audit requirement for their machines.
Indiana
I personally don't have a lot of hope for Indiana.
But Marion County, home of Indianapolis, uses the iVotronic by Election Systems & Software, as does Vigo County, a bellweather county that contains Terre Haute. Lake County, home of Gary and part of Greater Chicago, uses the Infinity by MicroVote. LaPorte County, a purpler county near Michigan, and Monroe County, a purpler area in southwest Indiana, also use this system.
Tippecanoe County, home of Purdue, uses the AccuVote-TS R6 by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold).
On the bright side, St. Joseph County (home of Notre Dame) and Porter County (next to Lake County) use paper ballots.
So, Indiana watchers, look out for those counties.
Furthermore, there's no audit requirement for their machines.
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana
I don't have a lot of hope for these states, but they are potential opportunities for a pickup. The good news is that all of them use paper voting systems.
New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware
I'll eat my shirt if any of these go for McCain, but New Jersey exclusively uses the AVC Advantage by Sequoia Voting Systems, Maryland exclusively uses the AccuVote-TS by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold), and Delaware exclusively uses the Shouptronic 1242 by Danaher Controls. If any of these are even close, you know something's up.
Nevada
Nevada is crucial this election cycle, but the good news is that the entire state uses the AVC Edge by Sequoia Voting Systems, which has a paper trail.
Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio
Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio are also crucial states. The good news is that all of them use a mixture of paper ballots and voting machines with paper trails.
Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine
It's highly unlikely that any of these states would go for McCain, but it's not completely outside the realm of possibility that he could win one of them. The good news here is that all of these states use paper ballots.
Conclusion
If North Carolina, Ohio and/or Missouri go for Obama, but Pennsylvania, Indiana, and/or Virginia do not -- be very concerned.
If Florida goes for McCain despite exit polls indicating strongly against it -- be very concerned.
If New Mexico and Nevada go for Obama, but Colorado does not -- be very concerned.