My proposal for verifiable voting

The problems with touch screen voting are so widespread, I need not reiterate them here; but every other system in place also has its vulnerabilities.  After considering the options available; I have devised, I believe, an excellent system that, if adopted nationwide would provide the ease of use of touch screen (an admitted big plus for that system) along with reliability and verification.

Follow me for an explanation:

First, let's look at the problems.  
Touch screen?  'Nuff said.  Easily hackable, very vulnerable to cheating.  
Punch cards?  Egad.  Hanging chads, overvotes, undervotes.  Florida 2000.  Say no more.
Optical scans?  Similar to problems with touch screen, combined with some of the punch card issues.

Even with paper tape backup, none of these systems is really foolproof or secure.  

Herewith my suggestion:

Part one - Touch screen voting.  Wait; don't scream.  Like the present system, voters will go to their booths and utilize the advantages of technology to select their candidates of choice.  Personally, I like it & find it easy to use.  The computerized interface allows the opportunity to present helpful information and ballots in a manner superior to cramming it all onto a paper ballot.  So let's use the good parts & discard the bad parts.

The bad parts are, of course, allowing this machine to cast your vote directly into the tally.  That needs to stop, because that's the part we know is broken.  

Instead, this handy dandy voting machine will function as nothing more than a printer.  Upon casting your ballot, the machine will print your selections onto a paper ballot in a clear, easy to read format, so even the least capable human will be able to read what they're done and verify it is what they intended.  At the same time, it is produced in the best possible format so a machine can read it also.

Satisfied that the touch screen device has accurately recorded their votes on the paper ballot, the voter then takes the ballot (and this is the actual ballot) to a reading device (optical scan or whatever), whereupon it is fed, read, and recorded.

The advantages are synergistically two-fold:
Quality: The touch screen printing device should produce near error-free ballots; no hanging chads, no partially filled circles.  

Verifiable:  The voter should be able to easily verify that his votes were recorded correctly at the time of voting.  Even if the reading device is compromised, there will remain clear and unambiguous paper ballots for the recount.

There is not, nor can there be, a defense against careless voting or failing to verify one's ballot; but this system will at least ensure accurate recordation of everyone's vote to the extent possible.

I can hear protests about how adding a second step will slow down the process, but I disagree.  Most polling places have two steps already, this system only alters the functions.

The ease of touch screen, the accuracy of optical scan, the reliability of paper.  I like it.